It's Time to Get Serious About HIV/AIDS
Dear Black America,
My name is Gil Robertson IV, editor of the bestselling, landmark anthology Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community. Up until the release of my most recent book, I spent more than a decade as an arts and entertainment journalist, reporting on popular trends, events and personalities that populate the entertainment industry. However, in the summer of 2005, I became committed to writing about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which by then had already gained a solid foothold within the African-American community, including my own family, with my brother living with the disease. So I decided to write a book that would highlight my family’s story, which I hoped would offer a measure of support and comfort to other families living in the shadows of this disease. However, as my idea developed, it quickly evolved to include other stories -- resulting in Not in My Family’s 58 essays from a wide cross-section of people sharing how HIV/AIDS has influenced and reshaped their lives.
Not in My Family was released last year on World AIDS Day, and since its publication, I have toured America extensively, connecting with members of the black community on a variety of issues involved with this disease. Away from wearing red ribbons, never-ending conferences and stagy speeches, my experience with this book has created an opportunity for me to engage with black people—up close, personal and for a real understanding about how we can begin as a community to effectively deal with this issue.
A year later, I have come away with a lot of confidence about how deeply African Americans care for their brethren. The problem is that a vast majority in the black community are confused and unsure about what they can do. Faced with overwhelming challenges coming from all directions, our community has been left beleaguered and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and numerous other social ills.
So what do we do about HIV/AIDS? For starters, African Americans need to get honest and real about the fact that as sexual animals, we’re all susceptible to the disease. The finger pointing must end. We also must do away with our fear, prejudice and denial over sex and sexuality and accept the fact that this is not a gay disease (homosexuals were the most visible and vocal community affected by this disease). This disease has never been exclusive to any one group of people. The African-American community must drop all the falsehoods and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. Many of us thought this disease would never touch our population in a significant way, but it has and it’s not going anywhere until we change our behavior and attitudes.
African Americans must develop the will and confidence to demand a change from the U.S. government, business community and medical institutions in terms of an aggressive response to this crisis. As citizens of a nation with the assets to land a man on the moon and finance wars on terror, African Americans should insist on nothing less than full engagement with regard to the federal support to solve the HIV/AIDS crisis in black communities. African Americans must be mindful of their contributions to America and the rest of the world. We must also remember what we are: the descendants of people who had the strength and resiliency to overcome Middle Passage, slavery and racial discrimination. In other words, we’re not asking for anything, but simply demanding the best support and treatment that we deserve.
On our own, it’s time for African Americans to accept responsibility and become accountable for how HIV/AIDS has spread within our families, neighborhoods and communities. We must move beyond having conversations about this problem and get busy with implementing the actual work for removing this disease out of our space. After connecting with so many of you during the past year, I know the black community has what it takes to get things done and that if we can come together, HIV/AIDS will be nothing but a bad, bad dream.
Gil Robertson IV
For more information on Not in My Family, please visit www.notinmyfamily.com
My name is Gil Robertson IV, editor of the bestselling, landmark anthology Not in My Family: AIDS in the African American Community. Up until the release of my most recent book, I spent more than a decade as an arts and entertainment journalist, reporting on popular trends, events and personalities that populate the entertainment industry. However, in the summer of 2005, I became committed to writing about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which by then had already gained a solid foothold within the African-American community, including my own family, with my brother living with the disease. So I decided to write a book that would highlight my family’s story, which I hoped would offer a measure of support and comfort to other families living in the shadows of this disease. However, as my idea developed, it quickly evolved to include other stories -- resulting in Not in My Family’s 58 essays from a wide cross-section of people sharing how HIV/AIDS has influenced and reshaped their lives.
Not in My Family was released last year on World AIDS Day, and since its publication, I have toured America extensively, connecting with members of the black community on a variety of issues involved with this disease. Away from wearing red ribbons, never-ending conferences and stagy speeches, my experience with this book has created an opportunity for me to engage with black people—up close, personal and for a real understanding about how we can begin as a community to effectively deal with this issue.
A year later, I have come away with a lot of confidence about how deeply African Americans care for their brethren. The problem is that a vast majority in the black community are confused and unsure about what they can do. Faced with overwhelming challenges coming from all directions, our community has been left beleaguered and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and numerous other social ills.
So what do we do about HIV/AIDS? For starters, African Americans need to get honest and real about the fact that as sexual animals, we’re all susceptible to the disease. The finger pointing must end. We also must do away with our fear, prejudice and denial over sex and sexuality and accept the fact that this is not a gay disease (homosexuals were the most visible and vocal community affected by this disease). This disease has never been exclusive to any one group of people. The African-American community must drop all the falsehoods and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. Many of us thought this disease would never touch our population in a significant way, but it has and it’s not going anywhere until we change our behavior and attitudes.
African Americans must develop the will and confidence to demand a change from the U.S. government, business community and medical institutions in terms of an aggressive response to this crisis. As citizens of a nation with the assets to land a man on the moon and finance wars on terror, African Americans should insist on nothing less than full engagement with regard to the federal support to solve the HIV/AIDS crisis in black communities. African Americans must be mindful of their contributions to America and the rest of the world. We must also remember what we are: the descendants of people who had the strength and resiliency to overcome Middle Passage, slavery and racial discrimination. In other words, we’re not asking for anything, but simply demanding the best support and treatment that we deserve.
On our own, it’s time for African Americans to accept responsibility and become accountable for how HIV/AIDS has spread within our families, neighborhoods and communities. We must move beyond having conversations about this problem and get busy with implementing the actual work for removing this disease out of our space. After connecting with so many of you during the past year, I know the black community has what it takes to get things done and that if we can come together, HIV/AIDS will be nothing but a bad, bad dream.
Gil Robertson IV
For more information on Not in My Family, please visit www.notinmyfamily.com
posted by heart&soulmate @ 12:21 AM
3 Comments:
At 1:41 AM,
Jennifer said…
..."We must also remember what we are: the descendants of people who had the strength and resiliency to overcome Middle Passage, slavery and racial discrimination. In other words, we’re not asking for anything, but simply demanding the best support and treatment that we deserve..."
I couldn't agree with you more my sister! HIV/AIDS is a real problem in not only the African American community, but on the Continent of Africa Period! I know that we sometimes only concern ourselves as African Americans with what affects us within the four corners of our walls, but HIV/AIDS is killing African peoples all over the world!
In fact, according to..."Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai, she restated her claim that the AIDS virus was a deliberately created biological agent created in a lab in the West. The Nobel winner after receiving the Nobel Prize on October 4, 2004 says AIDS came from Laboratory..."
"...Given that Africa accounts for the 25 million out of the estimated 38 million people infected with HIV all over the world, and the vast majority are African women, according to UNAIDS estimates." {The African American Registry® Copyright 2005}
No matter how crazy she sounds, thoses numbers are alarming and yet the world long after the WE ARE THE WORLD PROJECT looks on as if nothing is happening. If this woman happens to be correct in her allegations, I think it would be a waste of time to demand the government to anything about HIV/AIDS in our communities.
Knowledge as well as being proactive is power and the key. We as African people must begin to take charge of our own health and the situations that directly impact our own communities. In doing so, we like our ancestors take ownership and responsibility that empowers us to overcome just as they did. We owe ourselves and our children and their children so on and so forth. I differ with you in that I don't believe the government owes me anything, because I have been places in the world where the governments do nothing at all for their own citizens.
I understand that we should be able to demand what rightful belongs to us from our government as citizens of the U.S.,but history has shown us time and time again exactly what past and present governments think of African people. Afterall after slavery, our ancestors never got the 40 acres or the mule the government promised.
It far better to be proactive in our own communities to bring about awareness to things that directly impact us whether we do it thru our own business enterprises, African American charities/fundraisers, the African American churches, or newspapers/magazines geared toward African American issues.
Please check out projecthopeforafrica.org
At 7:10 PM,
All My Desires said…
Hi Gil, I am Chair for a community based org that has provided groundbreaking results in the area of HIV/AID outreach and education. The government pours funds into so many agencies that has no true concept of how to really reduce the spread of this disease as well as funding a few that do. There are methods of "getting to" and impacting people that really do work. There must be another paradigm shift in society as it relates to the way we all look at this disease. I am a resident of the Maryland/Washington corridor where the virus is running rampant, and for good reason. (the most prevalent being the s/he looks safe and/or s/he makes to much money or is to attractive to have HIV theories) My team and I have a network of doctors that we work with that tell us anonymous stories about patients that would make you just want to cry! Please feel free to contact me to discuss how we can work together to further educate our society. Karyne - www.orionpr-consulting.com
At 12:05 PM,
Pamela Payne Foster said…
Gil,
I think you for setting the path for other authors to begin to write in order to educate and empower our communities. I wrote my book in May 2007 specifically targeting Black Church leaders, because I think they play an important and influential role in removing the silence and stigma that besets this disease in our community. Keep on fighting the good fight!
Pamela Payne Foster (Is there a balm in Black America?" can be found on www.lulu.com or www.ppaynefoster.com)
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