Henrietta's Life and Character

Key Insight

Henrietta Lacks lived a vibrant life, often returning to Clover on weekends to work tobacco fields and churn butter, seemingly unaffected by any radium treatment side effects like nausea, vomiting, or anemia. At home, she was a dedicated cook, known for her rice pudding, slow-cooked greens, chitlins, and large pots of spaghetti and meatballs for her husband Day, their children, and many visiting cousins. Evenings were spent playing cards with Day or listening to Bennie Smith's blues guitar on the radio after the children were asleep. On nights Day worked, Henrietta and her cousin Sadie would sneak out to dance at Adams Bar and Twin Pines, often 'swinging out heavy' and describing these times as 'beautiful.'

Physically, Henrietta was a sturdy woman with walnut eyes, straight white teeth, full lips, a square jaw, thick hips, and muscular legs, her hands rough from her work. She meticulously cared for her appearance, keeping her nails short for kneading dough but always painting them and her toenails a deep red. She would spend hours touching up polish, sitting on her bed with hair in curlers and wearing a beloved silky slip she hand-washed nightly. Henrietta never wore pants and rarely left the house without a carefully pressed skirt and shirt, tiny open-toed pumps, and her hair pinned up with a 'flip... just like it was dancin toward her face.'

Henrietta was known for her infectious personality, making 'life come alive' and bringing 'the good things' out of people. She had four living children: Lawrence, David Jr., Deborah, and Joe, and an older daughter, Elsie. Elsie was described as beautiful but never spoke, exhibiting challenging behaviors, running into walls, and even chasing wild turkeys. Despite Henrietta's efforts, including seeking healing through revival meetings, Elsie's condition led to her institutionalization at Crownsville State Hospital, about 1.5 hours south of Baltimore, when Henrietta was pregnant with Joe. Her cousins believed 'a bit of Henrietta died the day they sent Elsie away,' and Henrietta continued to visit Elsie weekly. Henrietta faced animosity from her cousin Ethel, who was intensely jealous because Ethel's husband, Galen, showed more affection for Henrietta, often making Ethel 'hateful to Hennie somethin fierce,' which Henrietta and Sadie navigated by subtly leaving gatherings.