Celebrity Heroes In The AIDS Fight

Bond In Reversal - So much for being ready to step down. Julian Bond has decided to go ahead and seek another term as chairman of the NAACP's national board. The veteran civil rights leader announced three weeks ago that he wouldn't do that. But he says he has changed his mind.

1 / 7

Julian Bond, NAACP chairman and a scholar - "The face of AIDS in the United States is primarily Black," says the long-suffering civil rights leader who is one 10 people being honored by the Black AIDS Institute this month. "The majority of new HIVinfections here are Black; the majority of people who die from AIDS here are Black; and thepeople most at risk of contracting this virus in the United States are Black. AIDS is now inour house. It’s now our problem.”

Heroes In The Fight - “Just as African-American clergy fervently came together 50 years ago to fight for civil rights, we are banding together today to bring an end to HIV/AIDS and its potential to obliterate our community.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes, leader of the Dallas mega-church The Potter’s House.

2 / 7

Bishop T.D. Jakes, leader of a Dallas mega-church - “Just as African-American clergy fervently came together 50 years ago to fight for civil rights, we are banding together today to bring an end to HIV/AIDS and its potential to obliterate our community.” – Jakes an entrepreneurial trailblazer and philanthropist, whom Time magazine named as one of the “25 Most Influential Evangelicals.”

Heroes In The Fight - “We have allowed our leadership to get away with not making this a priority issue. We can go through all the different stigma issues, but it comes down to is we are complicit in their being able to sidestep this issue.” – Actor Hill Harper

3 / 7

Hill Harper, a film, television and stage actor - “We have allowed our leadership to get away with not making this a priority issue….We can go through all the different stigma issues…, but what it comes down to for me is that we are complicit in their being able to abdicate and being able to sidestep this issue.” – Harper, the son of two medical doctors and a self-described advocate of Black issues, who just happens to be a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Heroes In The Fight - Tavis Smiley, a broadcaster, author, advocate and philanthropist: He has held the presidential candidates’ feet to the fire on the issue of HIV/AIDs and the Black community. As an outstanding voice for change, he also continues to inspire the next generation of leaders.

4 / 7

Tavis Smiley, a broadcaster, author and advocate - He has held the presidential candidates feet to the fire on the issue of HIV/AIDs and the Black community. As an outstanding voice for change, he also continues to inspire the next generation of leaders, and he enlightens, encourages and empowers communities by bringing ideas and people together in a variety of formats.

Heroes In The Fight - “The Black Family doesn't like to take their dirty laundry to the street. That is the reason we have not been willing to discuss HIV and AIDS within our community. This destructive behavior will never assist us in improving our conditions.” – Danny Bakewell, a businessman, community activist and publisher.

5 / 7

Danny Bakewell, a publisher/community activist - “The No. 1 Rule within the Black Family is and has always been we don’t take our dirty laundry to the street. That’s a double-edged sword. That is the reason we have not been willing to discuss HIV and AIDS within our community for years. This destructive behavior and attitude has not and will never assist us in moving our community’s agenda forward or improving our conditions.” – Bakewell, founder of the Brotherhood Crusade, and Sabriya’s Castle of Fun, named for his daughter who died of leukem

ADVERTISEMENT
Heroes In The Fight - “This silent killer has gone in recent years from being a gay White man’s disease caused by homosexual contact to one that is casting its largest shadow over the country’s African-American and Hispanic communities.” – Charles B. Rangel, founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

6 / 7

Rep.. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) , a CBC founder - “This silent killer has gone in recent years from being a gay White man’s disease caused by homosexual contact to one that is casting its largest shadow over the country’s African-American and Hispanic communities.” – Charles Rangle, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Heroes In The Fight - "One thing we are not doing is talking about HIV/AIDS. We’ve managed to push AIDS so far underground that we are surprised when we hear the numbers. So, it’s time that we put AIDS back in our conversation because it is our people who are most affected.” -- Activist Jesse Milan, Jr.

7 / 7

Jesse Milan, Jr., an activist and healthcare exec. - “One thing we are not doing is talking about HIV/AIDS. We’ve managed to push AIDS so far underground that we are surprised when we hear the numbers. So, it’s time that we put AIDS back in our conversation because it is our people who are most affected by it and our people who are dying.”