December 1 is World AIDS Day and although people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are living longer thanks to antiretroviral drugs – AIDS’ deadly grasp is growing in the African American community in the U.S.
In 2009, 70 percent of the estimated new HIV infections occurred in black men, according to data from the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The estimated new infection rate for black men is more than six-and-a-half times as high as that of white men and two-and-a-half times as high as that of Latino men or black women.
That same year in 2009, black women accounted for 30 percent of the estimated new HIV infections among all blacks, and 85 percent of those black women with HIV got it through heterosexual sex. The CDC estimates the HIV infection rate for black women is 15 times as high as the rate for white women and more than three times as high as that of Latina women.
Awareness of the disease is not enough to stop its spread. Abstaining from sex, abstaining from unprotected sex and from risky behaviors, like multiple sex partners, are still strong and relevant and warnings in the battle against AIDS.
St. Louis Health Department Director Pamela Rice Walker says if you are not willing to do one of those three things, you are putting your life and health, as well as the life of others, in jeopardy.
In St. Louis, the Black Rep Theatre Company presents an artistic message of what can happen to an entire community, starting with one person who has AIDS. The Stump of the Terebinth, written by playwright and poet, Kwame Dawes, tells a story of one such village.
The Rep first performed the play in 2000 and decided its time to bring it back.
“People had gotten complacent and I think that we think it has gone away – and it’s not – it’s still quite prevalent in our community,” Linda Kennedy, artistic associate over education and community programs at The Black Rep, said. “There are a lot of young women – teen pregnancy and we wanted to be part of the solution and not part of the problem… and presenting something that would at least allow people to have conversations.”
The attitude of, ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen to me,’ only works if each person takes a proactive stand in protecting their own health rather than giving in to emotions.
A free performance of the 45-minute production, “The Stump of the Terebinth,” will take place at 6:00 p.m. on World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1 at the West Annex at St. Louis ConnectCare, 5535 Delmar in St. Louis. Acting in the play are Evann Jones, Iyana DeNovellis, Curtis Lewis, Maurice Demus and Heather Beal Himes.
A panel discussion will follow in partnership with St. Louis ConnectCare and the St. Louis Effort for AIDS BEACON Project. BEACON, an acronym for Barrier Elimination and Care Navigation, connects people who are living with HIV or AIDS who have not been receiving medical care for a year with a case worker, two peer advocates and a community nurse to assist them in getting the health care they need.
“They encourage people who have been off their AIDS medication because they couldn’t afford it or other reasons – they try to encourage them to get back on their medications – to get back into programs,” Kennedy said.
For a fee, the Rep will also take this show on the road.
“It will go into the schools; it will go into community centers, churches – we are always looking for groups and organizations that want to book the performance,” Kennedy added.
She said The Rep will travel to Culver-Stockton University in Quincy, Illinois in February 2012 to perform the play.
For more information, contact Linda Kennedy at lindak@theblackrep.org or visit www.theblackrep.org.
For more information about the Beacon Project or other related programs, contact St. Louis Effort for AIDS at 314-645-6451 or online at http://www.stlefa.org
