Say Something Real
Florida Surgeon General Needs A History Lesson
By Michelle Bryant
Michelle Bryant
I knew it was coming. The negative rhetoric surrounding vaccines has been building. Rolling across state legislatures, health agencies, and the U.S. Health and Human Services department, like a black cloud intended to obscure all daylight, the antivaxxers are gaining ground. Their latest attempt and performative declaration, spearheaded by Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, now includes the goal to “end all vaccine mandates” in the state of Florida. More so, Ladapo attempted to connect vaccine mandates to slavery. Perhaps he needs a refresher course.
In the early 1700s, Boston faced a devastating smallpox epidemic. Amid the fear and confusion, an enslaved African man named Onesimus used the knowledge he brought with him during the transatlantic slave trade to save countless lives. His story is one of resilience, innovation, and the tragic irony of prejudice—a story that echoes into today’s heated debates about vaccines and public health policy.
Onesimus was brought to Boston as a slave by Puritan minister Cotton Mather. When smallpox ravaged the city, Onesimus told Mather of an inoculation practice he’d known in Africa. In his homeland, people would deliberately expose themselves to a small amount of the smallpox virus through a cut in the skin, triggering immunity. This method, now recognized as a precursor to vaccination, had protected entire communities for generations.
Despite Mather’s advocacy, many Bostonians rejected inoculation at first—largely because the knowledge came from an African, and specifically an enslaved man. Racism blinded many to a lifesaving solution. Yet, as the epidemic worsened, more people were forced to try inoculation. The results were undeniable: those inoculated had far lower death rates than those who weren’t.
Fast forward to the present, where we are facing a different but no less dangerous kind of epidemic: misinformation. In a striking twist of history, Ladapo, a Nigerian-born Black Surgeon General, who immigrated to America as a five-year-old, now stands before cameras, not to share immunological facts but to announce that the state will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates. This stance was framed as a defense of personal freedom, but it is a stark departure from the lifesaving ethos that guided Onesimus centuries ago.
The science is clear: vaccines are among the most effective tools for preventing disease and saving lives. From smallpox to polio to COVID-19, vaccination campaigns have averted millions of deaths and spared generations from suffering. Vaccines undergo rigorous testing for safety and efficacy before they reach the public, and ongoing surveillance ensures their continued reliability.
Tragically, today’s public health landscape is increasingly shaped by people with no medical or scientific background. Public figures exploit fears and spread conspiracy theories, leading to declining vaccination rates and the return of preventable diseases. The story of Onesimus reminds us how easily prejudice, politics, or fear can guide our decisions. Turning away from vaccines is not progress—it is ignorance. The cost is measured in lives, just as it was in Boston so many years ago.
And personally, it’s just offensive to see a Black man as the face of this announcement in Florida, given the role of a Black man in introducing this life-saving concept to the country. Lapado used the word slavery to describe his actions, but he used it incorrectly.