Behind The Red Curtain

Performances on HIV

By Syed Ahad Hussein

On March 11, 2011

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"Behind The Red Curtain: Performances on HIV" was an event supported by various student clubs and organizations such as the Black Caucus, Latinas in Power (L.I.P), Black Heritage Gospel Choir, Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Contemporary Dance Club, and Gamma Phi Omega Sorority Inc. Rush University Medical Center, Feminist Collective, The Red Pump Project, Urban Theater Company, Global Girls, and Walgreens sponsored it.

"The purpose of this event is to educate people and raise awareness about HIV," said Julissa Flores of Gamma Phi Omega, "It's effecting minorities—55 percent of African Americans in Chicago are HIV positive, so we are encouraging people to get tested."

It was a sincere, honest and thought provoking event that raised an important concern that HIV and AIDS aren't only a gay, lesbian, and/or white disease—they can affect heterosexual black men and women too.

"In order to take care of yourself and those who love you, you have to get tested and you have to encourage your friends and family to get tested," said Craig Johnson of the Rush University Medical Center during his opening remarks. "In June, we are going to mark thirty years of AIDS; we came a long way from not knowing anything about the disease, and now we have some powerful drugs that can make the patients live longer and healthy lives."

Johnson pointed out that there are over 33 million people around the world who are living with AIDS, and that 1.3 million live in the United States. In the city of Chicago, the number of AIDS patients is 22,000.

The event's performances included Black Heritage Gospel Choir singers Ahriel Mullings, Keynell Dixon, Alexandra Rambus, Stephanie Brown, Lamaria Howard, Richard Robinson, Carol Martine, Cokeshia Maryan, and Stephanie Mann; Gamma Phi Omega's Reina Salcedo; composer, singer, and radio host Dana Divine; and Contemporary Dance Club members Laura Jean Burgess, Amanda Illic, and Lyz Krieger.

"Our dance act is about how women treat each other," said Amanda Illic, a performer from the Contemporary Dance Club. "Hopefully, our act will make people think to help each other, and being there for each other, especially [those affected by] this disease."

Other notable performances were the spoken word acts by Bolanle Emmanuel-Egobi from the Black Caucus, and the ladies of Latinas In Power (L.I.P): Wanda Fontanez, Jessica Urbina, Michelle Negrillo, Kimberly Arabu, Isamarie Schiffino, Sandra Gonzalez and its president, Stephanie Gomez.

"My mother was HIV positive, and in 2007 she passed away," said Wanda Fontanez of L.I.P, whose poem "Invasion of AIDS" was performed. "When I heard about the event, I told Stephanie about the poem I wrote and she agreed right away to perform in the event with me because she knows my situation."

The guest performers included spoken word artist Keith Romell, who urged men to use condom wallets; Hank Hilbert, an actor from the Urban Theater Company; poetry jam artist and activist Mama Brenda Matthews; actor and creative artist Sanford Gaylord; epidemiologist, and poet Sister Yaa Simpson; and nationally acclaimed jazz vocalist, Maggie Brown.

The most striking and heartfelt performance was the Global Girls' Everyday People Theater Company, which was about five teenage black girls who, due to the lack of awareness, got infected by their high school classmates and were constantly ignored by their mothers. Much to their horror was the isolation they felt in their homes and society after getting infected. This brought to light the fact that the number of infected African American women is increasing in the United States due to lack of awareness and education.

Autumn Brown, Ryonn Gloster, Nailah Harris, Nicole Jackson, Jamesa Martin, Christina Rice, Tasha Rice, Ava Saunders, Laura Sauners, and Marvenetta-Woodey-Penn performed the act.

Participants of the event agreed that it was imperative to raise awareness about HIV through this creative endeavor.

"Cultural Art is a powerful tool that can educate people and is a unique way of urging them to get tested," said Mama Brenda Matthews, a guest performer from HBO Def Poetry Jam and founder of Tap Roots on Chicago's West side.

"I think this is a much needed event about trying to reach out to the generations who follow us all and who we look up to as our hope," said Sanford Gaylord, an actor and creative activist. "HIV is greatly infecting youth, so a campus is a great place to create a rippling effect of knowledge and power of understanding."

The leading sponsors' representatives, Luvvie Ajayi, the co-founder of the Red Pump Project, and Peggy Austin from Walgreens said that they were proud to be a part of the event, and thanked NEIU and all student organizations and sororities for supporting