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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2011)
Books/Bids/classifieds Advertising deadlines 12:00 Noon Monday Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. To place your ad, email advertising@theskanner.com Book Review: ‘Ashamed to Die’ Silence, Denial, and the AIDS Epidemic in the South, by Andrew J. Skerritt by kam williams Special to The Skanner News “hiv/aiDS remains a significant public health and social justice crisis in the United States, and the South in particular is heavily bur- dened… Poverty, poor edu- cation, and limited commu- nity resources conspire against people who live in the rural South… Even as America has dis- patched billions to fight this disease overseas, our small rural communities remain vulnerable to the sinister threat of HIV/AIDS. The enemy isn’t just the physical illness. It’s ignorance; it’s the guilt and shame-induc- ing silence that kills our young… HIV/AIDS is more than a disease—it is a symptom of the larger problems of social inequalities and racial/eth- nic health disparities… It’s time to end the silence and to provoke an eruption of empathy, compassion and community action to alter the sad trajectory of AIDS in our small towns.” excerpted from Chapter one (page 11) When the AIDS epidemic exploded about 30 years ago, it initially ravaged the gay community. But the number of homosexuals infected dropped dramati- cally due to a combination of safe sex education and medical breakthroughs. Simultaneously, however, the AIDS rate among blacks has continued to skyrocket to the point where two- thirds of the new female cases in the country are African-American, meaning a sister is 15 times as likely to become HIV+ as a white woman. And these statistics are even worse in the South where eight of the states with the highest infection rates are located. But Andrew Skerritt did- n’t need help from the CDC to appreciate the toll the plague is taking on black folks in the region. For the London-born, professor of journalism at Florida A&M University could observe how such factors as denial, shame, racism and poverty had collaborated to prevent AIDS patients from receiv- ing proper treatment. In Ashamed to Die, he chronicles that societal fail- ing as witnessed in the Clover, South Carolina, a typical tiny town where talk about AIDS is considered taboo. Consequently, many of the infected remain in denial and undiagnosed, especially since, “the health department couldn’t force a person to be tested even if a contact gave them names of people exposed tom AIDS.” Nonetheless, symptoms of the lethal illness eventually do appear, as the body becomes susceptible to a variety of opportunistic infections. Sadly, the author found that “Caring for peo- ple with AIDS is the kind of thankless work few are will- ing or even equipped to do.” We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. And in the case of Dr. Robert Ball, he ended up broke and “a pariah in his own community,” when he was abandoned by his regu- lar patients because he allowed those with AIDS to share the same waiting room and office. And not only did the 42 year-old physician eventually lose his practice, but his wife and his home, too. Still, his plight pales in comparison to that of those dealing with the debilitating ailment on a day-to-day basis. “Those dying of AIDS long for comfort, someone to hold their hands,” since “no one wants to die alone,” Skerritt con- cludes. Apparently, no one wants to die forgotten either. For, in fascinating fashion, he proceeds to put a face on the disease by devoting individ- ual chapters to the life sto- ries of several ill-fated patients and devoted care- takers. A sobering manifesto practically begging African- Americans to acknowledge the omnipresence of an escalating plague decimat- ing the community. Caldwell’s, Hennessey, Goetsch & McGee Funeral Home Von D. Bailey Funeral Director 20 NE 14th Avenue Portland, OR 97232 503-232-4111 Fax 503-231-1586 von.bailey@sci-us.com SUB-BIDS REQUESTED Lot 5-Yards at Union Station New construction of an 80 unit multi- family housing project with ground floor parking. Located at 615 NW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR All Construction Divisions Bidding Bids on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 5:00 PM Plans are available for review at: www.yorkeandcur- tis.com, www.bxwa.com, DJC Plan Center, Contractors Plan Center and The Salem Exchange Please Note: This is a Prevailing Wage project, with Workforce training and LEED requirements YORKE & CURTIS RESIDENTIAL (503) 646-2123 FAX(503) 643-5531 4480 SW 101st Ave. Beaverton, OR OR CCB #55644 Yorke & Curtis is an equal opportunity employer and requests sub-bids from all minority, women, disadvantaged and emerging small business enter- prises. 10-26-11 october 26, 2011 The Portland Skanner page 11
