Miss Evers' Boys is a 1997 Emmy-winning drama film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne. The film depicts a true story of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a medical experiment conducted by the United States Public Health Service on a group of African-American men in Macon County, Alabama, between 1932 and 1972.
Miss Evers' Boys follows the story of Eunice Evers (played by Woodard), a nurse who worked closely with the male participants in the study for over forty years. The film begins in 1928 when Eunice is introduced to the syphilis study by Dr. Brodus (played by Craig Sheffer), a young doctor who initiates the project. Eunice is initially hesitant but agrees to help when Brodus convinces her that they can make a significant contribution to medical knowledge by focusing on the African-American population, which was disproportionately affected by the disease at the time.
The film then follows the study as it progresses over the years. Eunice becomes close to many of the men in the study, who she refers to as "her boys." As the study continues, the men are given placebos instead of actual treatment, and many of them eventually succumb to the disease, or suffer from its debilitating effects.
In 1969, the study is discovered by a newspaper reporter named Jean Heller (played by Obba Babatunde), who exposes the unethical nature of the experiment to the public. Eunice is called before a Senate committee to testify about her role in the study, and she must confront the truth about what she has participated in for all those years.
Miss Evers' Boys provides a stark portrayal of the medical establishment's mistreatment and neglect of African-Americans for decades, and raises important questions about the ethics of medical research.