Mr. & Mrs. Smith Applaud The HIV "Deciding Moment" feature on CNN's Anderson 360

Jan. 12, 2011 - PRLog -- As a part of the "Deciding Moments" campaign, my wife, Dionne, and I are continually gratified by the potential that is being realized by the immense effort being given to help dispel the devastating effects of HIV stigma on human life.  We are extremely impressed by the work that Phil Wilson and the Black AIDS Institute and the Kaiser Foundation are doing to make the topic of HIV a part of the national conversation.

This particular media effort to raise the consciousness and awareness of us all as to how we can be empowered no matter what our situation may be, is a big step in moving to the next level of healing solutions that are available to those who would choose to use them.

We have been having this conversation with many of you for the past 10 years. My wife and I have been living with HIV as a "hetromagnetic" couple (+/-) for over 25 years, so though the public conversation about stigma has been a long time coming, we are glad that we are finally talking about it.  We are even more grateful that God has positioned us to be of even greater service as an example of what He can do.  Being a part of the "Deciding Moments" campaign has afforded Dionne and I the opportunity to speak with even more people in an effort to share how we have navigated to this point, with God's grace, as a sexually active, serodiscordant couple, dealing with the spiritual, mental, emotional and practical issues that our relationship has experienced.

We hope you will watch the CNN special this Friday.  I will be especially interested to see the perceptions of the established corporate media about how we can move forward from here in order to shift the paradigm of thinking and action as it relates to HIV. We are certainly eager to share our hope and experience with all that we can, so we pray that having this kind of attention to the issue will help many more ask the valid questions that may allow them to enjoy the abundant blessings with which we have been blessed.  

Also, look for Dionne and Reggie as a part of the program on Friday...if we do not end up on the cutting room floor (:>?)

Please forward as is appropriate...

   The Black AIDS Institute is proud to announce that President and CEO Phill Wilson will be a guest on the CNN special

   "Hope Survives: 30 Years of AIDS" hosted by Anderson Cooper premiering Friday, January 14 at

   9pm EST/6pm PST

   Other guests include Sir Elton John , founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Academy Award-winning actress Mo'Nique, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

   The show will look at the AIDS epidemic since the first diagnosed AIDS case 30 years ago. Topics discussed will include stigma, criminalization, treatment, vaccines, and more. Phill will share his personal experience living with AIDS and how the disease impacts the black community.

   

   

   David Puente
   AC360° Producer

   

   (CNN) - A couple of months before the new year, I read that 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis here in the US. Immediately, I thought this was a story we had to cover on AC360°. That day I pitched the story and this week I am happy to be working overtime to get our hour long report – called “Hope Survives: 30 Years of AIDS” – to air this Friday at 9pm ET on CNN.

   

   Since I began to research this story, I was interested in communicating that the AIDS crisis in America is alive and well, even if we in the media and society as a whole don’t discuss it as much as we did decades ago. At the same time, as I met more and more people living with HIV or AIDS, I realized that this was also a story full of hope. It is a mixed bag because, although AIDS is no longer the killer it once was, the stigma associated with the disease still destroys individuals. Yet so many of the HIV positive men and women I met in the last few months proved to me the strength of the human spirit – they have claimed victory over HIV because it is no longer the main focus of their lives. Sure they take their medication, watch their health and protect themselves but at their core they are much more focused on achieving their goals and living out their dreams than they are on their HIV status. So many of them are heroic – activists, long-time survivors, young people determined to live long, fulfilling, happy lives. That’s also the face of HIV in America today.

   

   Sir Elton John; Mo’Nique; Phil Wilson, the Director of the Black AIDS Institute; Dr. Anthony Fauci, who oversees HIV/AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health; and a fashion designer, with a very inspiring story, named Mondo Guerra make up our panel for this Friday night’s program. I am extremely eager to hear what they have to say. I know it will be informative and will help bring AIDS back to the public discourse. We need that since there are still about 56,000 new cases of HIV in the US each year and at least 20,000 people still die of AIDS in our country yearly.

   I also can’t wait to read what ACT UP founder, and one of my personal heroes, Larry Kramer will write for the op-ed piece that he is working on for CNN.com. It will be posted in a few days.

   

   Plus Sharon Stone, Barry Manilow, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Maya Angelou, Jeanne White-Ginder, Margaret Cho, Gloria Estefan and LA Laker Pau Gasol will share their “Deciding Moment” with us…watch some here, they tell us about a pivotal moment in their life associated with AIDS.

   

   Working with Sir Elton John’s team at the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the professionals at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Black AIDS Institute, I have become better educated about HIV. I understand that we can protect ourselves from the virus as individuals and as a society not only with condoms, but also with love and acceptance of those living with HIV. We need to fully accept them in our intimate circles – at work, in our families and socially. I’ve talked to so many like Mondo Guerra who is HIV positive but is dating an HIV negative partner. I’ve learned that a condom is good protection against HIV but so is breaking the stigma that surrounds the disease. I hope this blog can contribute to the conversation that will continue on our broadcast Friday night.

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Sharing our strength, hope and experiences in order to promote Wellness, Awareness and Recovery (W.A.R).