Singer and songwriter Alicia Keys was named ABC’s Person of the Week for using her voice to help foster more interest about HIV/AIDS.
Keys’ organization Keep a Child Alive has predominately worked in towns and villages throughout Africa, but according to David Muir of ABC, she’s bringing the conversation back to the U.S.
“Talking about HIV-AIDS, you know, it’s critical and it is our generation’s issue and if we don’t talk about it now, it’s going to continue,” she said. “We tend to have a good international dialogue – like a good, healthy dialogue – but we’re not really discussing it in America. … We have to learn as much as we can and we have to share with as many people we can.”
Keys told Muir:
“It doesn’t matter if you’re positive, if you’re negative, whatever the case, you’re at risk, your children are at risk. We have to talk about it, and we have to be able to dialogue [about] it again. … I think we’ve gotten a bit complacent, just feeling like it’s not something that will happen to us.”
“This is our collective problem,” Keys continued. “They’re your sister. … They’re your aunties. They’re your daughters. … We have a lot of work to do and we have a lot to talk about.”
maybe "reignite" isn't the right word. lots of people have kept a conversation about HIV going in America for nearly 3 decades. Even the POTUS has talked about it with the first national strategy being put in place during his administration. Not to mention home testing, PrEP and various paths to a cure (the berlin patient, the baby possibly cured of HIV).
Don't misunderstand me. I appreciate whatever Alicia Keys can bring to the conversation; but I just think that claiming that she will reignite a conversation ignores all the news about HIV, and severely disregards all the ASOs, prevention groups, outreach programs and school sex ed classes that have been continuing to have a conversation about HIV for a long time.