aids-25-years-and-counting

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

LaJoyce Brookshire has certainly been through the fire, but thanks to her unrelenting faith, came out unscathed.

The former power publicist turned author (she novelized the black film classic Soul Food and also wrote Web of Deception), ordained minister and doctor of Naturopathy, recently released a powerful piece of non-fiction -- a deeply disturbing, though increasingly common story, about courage, AIDS, marriage, deception and ultimately, redemption.

In Faith Under Fire: Betrayed By a Thing Called Love, Brookshire shares the riveting true-life account of marrying a man with full blown AIDS, and using her rock of Gibraltar faith to get through an ordeal which would have broken most. Brookshire opens up with BlackVoices.com.

What was your process in coming to write the memoir?

I wrote 'Faith Under Fire' primarily because the statistics for HIV infections were continuing to rise. And I heard my story over and over more times than I even cared to. So it was time that I broke the silence and stopped trying to keep the privacy of a dead man, and let people know some information that could possibly save their lives; because for the people who are most at risk, I have the most information.

And who are the people most at risk, black women, married?

Black women are highly at risk, yes . And heterosexual women of all walks of life are highly at risk.

How did you maintain your Christian faith when you knew that this man knowingly had AIDS and still slept with you?

After a year of campaigning, the Democratic Party is about to make history by nominating either the first woman or the first African American as their standard bearer for the President of the United States. This week's presidential debate at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on CNN was a proud moment for America.

Watching Senator Obama and Senator Clinton discuss the important issues of our day sent chills up my spine. It made me proud to be an American-something that has been difficult for many Americans over the last few years with torture, Katrina, and an Attorney General who believed political loyalty was more important than defending the constitution.

The two candidates demonstrated a robust understanding on issues from Immigration and healthcare to national security and the war in Iraq. But for me, what wasn't talked about in their "conversation" rang louder than what was discussed. Through 17 debates in every corner of this country, AIDS has barely been mentioned. And it was not mentioned at all during the final debate between the remaining two Democratic contenders prior to super Tuesday.

Here's why this is important to Black people.

By Phill Wilson, Blackaids.org

The other day, I got a comment from Jane. She was concerned that some of the people who volunteered for the Merck vaccine trial might be at greater risk for HIV infection as a result of having participated.

I think this is a very important question. It is been reported that blacks are more distrustful of medical trials, because of historical precedent.

So I asked my friend Steve Wakefield (pictured above), the HIV Vaccine Trials Network Legacy Project Director, who works to increase the participation of Blacks and Latinos in clinical research.

Here's what Steve had to say:

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute

"An injustice any where is a threat to justice everywhere."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I've spent the entire day thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King jr. and wondering if Dr. King were alive today what would he say about the AIDS epidemic in our community. After reading his writings and listening to his speeches I realized I don't have to wonder what Dr. King would have said about AIDS because he said it.

"...sometimes there are battles
That are more than black or white...
Teach every child to raise his voice
And then, my brothers, then
Will justice be demanded
By ten million righteous men.
Make them hear you."

Coalhouse Walker--Ragtime

Can someone explain to me how the political pundits get off writing off the presidential campaigns before most Black folks have a chance to make our voices heard?

Let me break it down for you. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total population is a little over 300 million. The combined population for Iowa and New Hampshire is 4.5 million. About 38 million Black people live in , of whom only about 90,000 live in Iowa and New Hampshire . So that means that a mere 1.5% of all Americans have had a chance to vote, and less than three tenths of one percent of Black people have had that opportunity.

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

No, it's not still Christmas -- but just as more companies are going GREEN for the environment, more companies are going RED in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Fashion retailer H&M and Designers Against AIDS (DAA) recently launched "Fashion Against AIDS" which hits H&M stores in February 2008.

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute

Saturday's Los Angeles Times ran a Joel Pett comic strip commenting on Senator Barack Obama's victory in the Iowa Democratic caucuses. A Black man and women are sitting at a table. The man is reading a newspaper, and he says to the woman, "A white state voted for a black man...cool!"

The woman replies, "You mean 3% of a 98% white state voted for a 50% Black Man?" The woman leaves the room. The man considers what she said, and then says to himself, "Still Cool!"

By Coletta Renee, Founder Tia's Foundation

What if your significant other told you that they were infected with HIV or AIDS? What would you do? Would you stay in the relationship or would you leave? That is the question I've asked myself many times since learning that my best friend was infected by her fiancé.

She chose to stay for many reasons but the main reason she chose to stay was out of fear of loneliness. While I realize that many people remain in relationships for the wrong reasons, at some point you have to wonder if it's really worth it.

I want to share three stories with you about choices: The choice to stay; the choice to leave; and the choice not to reveal status.

The 2008 race for the white house officially began last night when the Iowa caucuses sent a message. "It's all about change." And Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are their guys.

On Tuesday, The Black AIDS Institute (The Institute) released the first in a series of educational briefs on electoral politics-We Demand Accountability: The 2008 Presidential Elections and the Black AIDS Epidemic (www.blackAIDS.org). This report is not only the first analysis to look at the presidential candidates from the perspective of AIDS in Black America; it is the first overview of where all the candidates stand on any issue of import to Black America.

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute

My holiday celebration was interrupted by the news of the death of my friend Tom Morgan on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Thomas Morgan was one of Black Journalism's shining stars. He was a former New York Times editor and a trailblazing ex-president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). He died Monday of an AIDS-related heart attack. He was 52.

Morgan lived for 20 years as an openly HIV-positive, gay man and worked in some of America's largest, most influential newsrooms. He was a reporter and editor at the Times, The Washington Post and the Miami Herald. From 1989 to 1991, he presided over one of NABJ's most explosive periods of growth and organization.

I met Tom in the mid eighties. At the time, he was the highest profiled African American living with AIDS.

By Coletta Renee, founder Tia's Foundation

Like many others, my journey to understanding the AIDS epidemic has not been an easy one. Although I participated in AIDS Walks for as far back as I can remember, I never really understood the real reason why so many were making quilts, sharing their personal stories and raising money until AIDS appeared on my own doorstep.

In 1993, my aunt, who also happened to be my best friend, called me to tell me that she was infected. Speechless, I hung up without even realizing it. When I called her back, I could tell that she had been crying and hadn't had much sleep.

So many questions entered my mind..."How long had she been infected?" "Who infected her? " "Was her fiancé at risk?" I had so many questions but my heart ached too much to ask. The only question I could muster up to ask was "How did you get it?" Her response was even more shocking than the news itself. She told me that her fiancée had infected her.

In a matter of moments, my whole world had turned upside down.

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute

While Maurice Jamal's latest film, Dirty Laundry, is being touted as a story about a modern day prodigal son with a twist". I think it is more a story about what binds Black families together -- and what keeps us from really being together. I think Jamal intended to make a film about what happens when a mother rejects her son.

Instead, I think Dirty laundry is a story about what happens when a gifted son abandons his family because he feels rejected by them, and the pain and hurt they each suffer because they are unable to talk about their own pain or listen to the other's hurt.

Dirty Laundry follows magazine writer Patrick, played by Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break, Soul Food), who seems to have the perfect life, until one day there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face to face with the traditional southern family he's been running away from for ten years.

Dirty Laundry's cast includes a colorful array of character and comedic actors including Loretta Devine (Waiting to Exhale, I Am Sam, Dreamgirls) as "Evelyn", Jenifer Lewis (Antwone Fisher Story, Castaway) as "Aunt Lettuce", Terri J. Vaughn (Daddy's Little Girls, Steve Harvey Show) as "Jackie", Sommore (Queens of Comedy, The Parkers) as "Abby", Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty) as "Daniel" and Director Maurice Jamal as "Eugene". Supermodel Veronica Webb also appears in a cameo.

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute

About six months ago a young man named Mike Sacco walked into my office with an idea. He had been reading about the AIDS epidemic in Black communities and he wanted to do something. "That's great." I said, "So what do you do?" I asked. "I'm a runner," he replied. "I've been reading about all these new statistics about HIV and AIDS and people are acting like the epidemic is over. I felt like I had to do something.

When I found out about what the Black AIDS Institute was doing and the devastating impact the AIDS epidemic is having on Black communities, a light went off in my head. Maybe I could raise money to fight AIDS and remind people that the AIDS epidemic is not over by combining my love of running and my dream to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles with my desire to do something about the AIDS epidemic?"

I have to admit, when Mike first walked into my office, I found myself in a paradox. My favorite quote is from Calvin Rolark "Nobody can save us from us, but us." I'm the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute. Our motto is "Our people, Our problem, Our solution!" Our mission is to get Black people involved in fighting HIV/AIDS. On the other hand White people should not be given a pass just because Black people bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic today.

By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institue

On Monday, Nov. 26, the Washington D.C. HIV/AIDS administration released its first ever report assessing the status of HIV/AIDS in the District. According to the report, 80% of the new cases identified between 2001 and 2006 in Washington D.C. are Black.

The other news from DC is the AIDS epidemic in DC is primarily a heterosexual disease. 37% of the new HIV cases in the District were spread through heterosexual sex, 25% through men having sex with men.

Our nation's capital has the highest AIDS rate in the country, where 1 in every 50 people is known to be infected. Many experts believe the numbers could be even higher because many people infected with HIV don't know they have the virus because they have not been tested.

DC has the worse AIDS epidemic of any capital city in the world-worse then Dakar Senegal, Pretoria, South Africa, Phnompenh, Cambodia, or Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AIDS is worse in DC than Port-Au-Prince!

I don't know about you, but this report pisses me off.

By Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices

Stephen Hill, Executive Vice President of Entertainment and Music Programming at BET, is a man to whom controversy is no stranger.

Hello? This is the man who programs Entertainment and music at BET!

Yet, you might be surprised that not only was this Ivy-Leaguer a teacher in years past, but the former radio exec turned TV mogul also has been active in the fight against AIDS for many years.

For his work, he's being honored Tuesday, Dec. 4 by LIFEBeat, the Music Industry's charity against AIDS.

"We are going to have fun and in fun raise a lot of money so that we can continue our information distribution to the youth about AIDS," says Hill.

Tomorrow, the Brown grad will be feted by LIFEBeat's LIVE BEATS at New York's Highline Ballroom with special performances by Mary J. Blige, Kathy Sledge, Denise Rich and "you never know who else well be grabbing the mic!"

Hill, like many of us, came to the fight against AIDS because it touched his life in a very personal way.