MANY WOMEN, ONE VOICE - AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN & HIV (Screening Panel and Discussion)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2012

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

ALUMNI HOUSE-UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY

LIMITED SEATING - FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

WORLD AIDS DAY

  Millions around the World will recognize WORLD AIDS DAY on Saturday, December 1, 2012.  In recognition of WORLD AIDS DAY  bay area organizations collaborate efforts:  Get  Screened Oakland,  Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,  INC,   SHERO Women’s Empowerment Network,  Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services  WORLD,  and 100 Black Women, Inc, OBAC, “Sistahs Getting Real About HIV/AIDS”  and  Gilead sciences, Inc , Hosts, “Many Women, One Voice African American Women & HIV   Screening & Panel Discussion in recognition of WORLD  AIDS DAY on December  1^st, at Alumni House-University of California Berkeley Campus from  2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

The event is free.   Food and drink will be provided. Limited seating. First come, first served. To register for the event, please go to manywomenworldaidsday.eventbrite.com.

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

More than 90,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with HIV. World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

Many Women, One Voice African American Women & HIV screening is so critical for women who still live in shame and fear to expose themselves because of the many stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS. 

Although World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to get the public talking about HIV the need to remember the importance of raising awareness of HIV all year round is critical to our survival.

 The event is being underwritten by Gilead along with support from other sponsoring organizations:

While music and cheers blared throughout the Global Village at the International AIDS Conference, a small group of women gathered at the African/Black Diaspora Networking Zone to learn more about HIV. For 20 minutes, the women tuned out the background noise and focused their attention on a short documentary, "Many Women, One Voice: African American Women and HIV."

The documentary, created by Gilead Sciences and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, highlighted the growing rate of HIV in African American women.

"The film really put things into perspective, and the most important thing was that it provided faces to voices — strong, healthy-looking women who look just like us here," said Elma Kerry, a conference volunteer from Detroit.

African-American women revealed their experiences from the moment they learned they were positive to their everyday living. But the film wasn't just about their personal revelations. Throughout the film, the phrase "It's not about me; it's about somebody else" was constantly repeated. The short documentary was about every African-American woman and the fight against HIV.

Vanessa Johnson, co-founder of the National Women and AIDS Collective, was one of the women featured in the film and a speaker at the conference, which was recently held in D.C. at the Washington Convention Center.  "I'm encouraging those who are willing to spread the discussion educate our communities and get involved in the fight," Johnson said

 Speakers at the event include:

At birth, Hydeia Broadbent was abandoned at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas where Patricia and Loren Broadbent adopted her as an infant. Although her HIV condition was congenital, she was not diagnosed as HIV-positive with advancement to AIDS until age three. The prognosis was that she would not live past the age of five. Now at the age of 27, Hydeia spends her time spreading the message of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, by: promoting abstinence, safe-sex practices (for people who choose to have sex), and the initiative “Knowing Your HIV/AIDS Status.”

“People think because I was born with HIV my story does not apply to them. Well this same disease I am living with is the same disease you can get if you don’t know the HIV status of the person you are considering becoming sexually active with before hand, I ask people to use my testimony as a warning of what you don’t want to go through.”  Hydeia Broadbent

 

Hydeia Broadbent began her debut as an HIV/AIDS activist and public speaker at six years old. By 12 years old, Hydeia appeared on many national television programs including Oprah, 20/20, Good Morning America, Weekly with Ed Gordon, and “A Conversation with Magic Johnson” on Nickelodeon. She has been featured in prominent publications to include; New York Times, Teen People, Essence, YM, Ebony , Health Quest, Sister to Sister, POZ, National Geographic, Real Health, Seventeen, and Heart & Soul. She also graced the cover of TV Guide. Hydeia has also taken part many of America’s talk radio programs including, The Michael Eric Dyson Show, Russ Parr Morning Show, and The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

Over the next 10 years, Hydeia has become a notable speaker and guest panelist at many of America’s most respected educational institutions including Duke University, Morehouse School of Medicine, UCLA, USC, and Howard University. Hydeia has been a featured speaker for the International AIDS Conference in 2006. She also spoke at the 2007 Essence Music Festival as well as the 2007 AIDS Rally at the Potters House lead by Bishop TD Jakes, in Dallas, Texas.

 

Cathy D. Adams
CDA Consulting Group
P.O. Box 23511
Oakland, Ca 94623

Phone: (5l0) 653-4085
Fax (510) 653-4083