MARCH 1, 2023
Vol. VII No. 9
vfpress.news
Black and living with HIV/AIDS. Documentary premieres on West Side
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Can epidemic be eliminated by 2030? By MICHELLE MEYER Austin Talks
Over 100 people gathered at Malcom X College recently – on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – for the premiere of the Chicago Department of Public Health’s documentary “HIV and the Journey Toward Zero.” The film, in partnership with Tessa Films, highlights six Chicagoans living with HIV/AIDS. Through their stories, the one-hour long documentary shows the history and future of HIV/ AIDS in Chicago. City health data shows that AIDS diagnoses are at its lowest since 1985 and HIV cases rose just under 2% in 2021 from 2020. But Black Chicagoans are disproportionally affected – over half of the new AIDS diagnoses in 2021 were among Black Chicagoans. The film, directed by Chan C. Smith, aims to highlight diverse stories of people affected by HIV while showcasing the latest treatments and CDPH’s goal to reach zero new HIV/AIDS cases by 2030. See DOCUMENTARY on page 2
FILE
Mayor Andre Harvey, trailblazer
And he has the personal scars to show for it By TOM HOLMES
Contributing Reporter
Andre Harvey, mayor of Bellwood, was asked by the Proviso Township Ministerial Alliance Network (PTMAN) to speak on the subject of trailblazing at their Feb. 11 virtual Zoom meeting. He began with a summary of his professional career in Bellwood: 2017 - elected as first Black mayor;
2010 - first Black director of public safety; 1996 - first Black fire chief; 1988 - first Black firefighter. As impressive as his resume may have been, it was what he said in the remainder of the 15 minutes allotted to him that deeply resonated with the mostly African American online audience. “In the movie Roots,” he began, “Kunta Kinte took off his shirt and showed the scars on his back, so people would know how he got there. I want to tell everyone how I got here, so I’m going to take off my shirt and show my
scars. “Two trailblazers who came before me were my parents, who moved our family from the West Side of Chicago to Bellwood in 1969. We were the first Black family on our block.” The U.S. Census records show that African Americans comprised 1.1% of the population of Bellwood back then. It’s now 70.5% Black. Harvey understated the impact the move had on him at 5 years old, calling the change, “a little different” and “eye opening.” “Moving from the concrete jungle of the West Side, with its dirt lots See TRAILBLAZER on page 9