A non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, HLLG exists to protect, preserve and promote the legacy of Henrietta Lacks and her singular contributions to modern medicine. Mrs. Lacks’ cells, known as the HeLa cells, have had a world-wide effect on medical advances such as the development of the polio vaccine, the HIV vaccine, gene mapping, cloning, in vitro fertilization, and cancer treatments. HeLa cells are still being used worldwide in laboratories. HLLG also recognizes the importance of promoting historic Turner Station, Maryland, where Lacks resided at the time of her death.
Among other educational activities, the group has and continues to:
• Coordinate the annual Henrietta Lacks Essay and Video Competition for middle and high school students nationally
• Present the Annual HLLG Luncheon
• Present the Annual Black Steel Workers Program
• Direct Turner Station Community Tours
• Raise funds for a wax figure of Mrs. Lacks for the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum
• Co-sponsor the Turner Station Girl Scouts
The amazing Henrietta Lacks, born in 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, has left a tremendous contribution to science and medicine. Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951. Cells taken from her body without her knowledge were used to form the HeLa cell line, which has been used extensively in medical research since that time.
Read her biography here.
Six women who helped shape the country will join the National Women’s Hall of Fame posthumously on December 10, 2020. Mrs. Lacks was nominated by the Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, and vice president Dr. Adele Newson-Horst will speak at the event.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from Kadir Nelson and the JKBN Group LLC.
On April 3rd, HLLG presented its Fifth Annual Steel Workers Program. This year’s keynote speaker was Mr. Bill Barry, Labor Historian and Mr. Lee Douglass, First African American Shop Steward at Sparrows Point, was honored for his service. This program commemorates the contributions of African American Steel workers in the development of Sparrows Point, Turner Station, Baltimore County and the surrounding community.