|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 Roots to Rap
Rahiel Tesfamariam
Columnist Page
Friday, December 3, 2004; Page 19
Past the Front Gate and Now
in the House
When Arthur Ashe died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993, many Americans, particularly African Americans, developed an image of the deadly disease that they had never had before his death. Ashe was a married man that contracted the disease through a blood transfusion; he didn’t fit the profile that the world had tried so hard to create of the disease’s victims.
That same year, the movie “Philadelphia” appealed to human empathy by depicting the challenges faced by an AIDS sufferer played by Hollywood great Tom Hanks. For those of us who are blessed, this is the closest that we have ever come to encountering the disease on the home front.
There was a time when HIV and AIDS were only discussed on shows like 20/20 and 60 Minutes. Documentaries based on the evolution of the disease always focused on the susceptibility of the gay community and individuals living reckless lifestyles. The only time that it was brought into our homes was when we sat together in our living rooms and watched those who lost a loved one to the deadly disease make their additions to the AIDS Blanket. Back then it was very foreign, and never familiar. But now, it’s bigger and bolder than ever before.
I remember when a young African American woman living with the disease spoke to the student body at Banneker Academic High School about how she contracted the disease during her very first sexual encounter, stating that she would pay for that mistake until the day that the disease took her life.
During my sophomore year of college, the Stanford University chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. sponsored a speaker, once again an African American woman, who talked about how she has learned to live life to its fullest despite the death sentence that has been handed to her by AIDS.
But the tragic stories are not always that distant, as rumors circulate through the grapevine that those childhood friends that we once knew and loved so well are now faced with a reality that we could never understand or ever dream of relating to.
Many of us know that AIDS plagues the world and not just sub-Saharan Africa but still wonder how it ever made it pass our front gates. How did a disease that was once nonexistent in our community end up hurting us more than any other group of people?
Perhaps because we are relying on our own invincibility.
HIV doesn’t skip over a sister simply because she’s a sister and doesn’t know to leave a brother alone just because he’s a brother. Maybe we need to simplify this disease as much as possible. Let’s do away with the statistics and probability and simply say that you, your mama, your papa, your man, your woman, your baby girl, your lil’ boy, your homies, your lovers and your friends can all get it. It’s real folks!
It’s in the house now and it ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.
For Rahiel Tesfamariam send email to rahielt@washingtoninformer.com. |
|
|
|