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A recent report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) ranks Atlanta third in new HIV infection diagnoses. The Center’s annual HIV Surveillance report, published in March, summarizes information about diagnosed HIV infections in the U.S. in 2021.

Over half of the new cases happen to be people ages 13-24 years old nationwide, with the majority of them being African American. 

Credit: CDC

Imara Canady, the National Director for Community Engagement and Communications at the AIDS Health Foundation (AHF), says people in this age bracket are more experimental around sex and sexuality. AHF and local medical center AID Atlanta are working to develop creative ways to inform residents of this matter. 

“HIV care is extremely expensive, and that is where the support of Medicaid expansion is critical to ensuring that not only those living with HIV can get access and the care they need but for those that are living with the critical illness can get access to care that they need and not be burdened by high drug pricing or the cost of care,” Canady said. 

States, that refused  Medicaid expansion — including Georgia — correlate with new infection rates.

“HIV care is extremely expensive, and that is where the support of Medicaid Expansion is critical to ensure that not only that those that are living with HIV can get access and the care that they need but for those that living with any critical illness can get the access to care that they need and not be burdened by the high pricing whether it’s the drug pricing or the cost of care,” Canady said. 

AID Atlanta provides testing, care, prevention, and education for anyone in the Atlanta metro area. Patients can get HIV and STI testing and enroll in a PrEP program and housing and utility assistance for those in need. 

DeWayne Ford is the Director of Prevention Services at AID Atlanta. He added that assistance from their community stakeholders and Atlanta residents makes an enormous impact in the fight to reduce the HIV infection rate. 

“We want everybody to know everything about HIV,” Ford said. “If they are living with HIV, getting to care if they’re at risk and giving them PrEP until the infection rate is zero and you don’t need us anymore. Until then, we’re here and ready to partner with people who share that mission.”

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“Beacon of hope,” “leader” and “good friend” were some of the words that were used to describe James “Jim” Washington during his celebration of life last week. The General Manager of “The Atlanta Voice” died at 73 after a long battle with cancer.

Many gathered at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Southwest Atlanta to say farewell to the long-time journalist during a homegoing filled with singing, laughing, and crying. 

“Washington was many things to many people but one thing is for sure that he was never a man of few words,” said Patrick Washington, CEO and Co-Publisher of “The Dallas Weekly” and Washington’s son. 

During his long career, Washington worked in many communication industry positions. 

From a professor at Tennessee State University and Paul Quinn College to news director at KALO radio station in Little Rock, Ark., to PR Specialist for the American Heart Association, before co-founding Focus Communications and acquiring “The Dallas Weekly” in 1980. 

He was also the author of the book Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian, which gives spiritual insight into the new Christian and answers questions like “why me.” He understands the answer is and always has been “why, not you.” 

He was a member of several journalism organizations including the Texas Publishing Association, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

“[Washington] was a man who loved hard, who worked hard and yes he played,” said Toni Draper, Board Chair of Word in Black and Publisher and CEO of the Afro-American Newspapers. 

Washington married his wife, Janis Ware, publisher of The Atlanta Voice, in 2003. Their passion for the Black press brought them together as not only life partners but also business partners.  

Robert Bogle, President and CEO of “The Philadelphia Tribune,” credited himself for bringing the two of them together which was immediately followed by laughs inside the sanctuary. 

“I know for a fact that the older anyone gets, the more value they place on time. Spending it wisely becomes more than a trite phrase.”

James Washington, “Spiritually Speaking.” 

Washington’s son Patrick spoke on the family’s behalf and expressed appreciation for the love and support of so many people. 

“On behalf of the Ware/Washington family, ‘The Atlanta Voice,’ newspaper, Voice News Network and especially from my mom Janis Ware like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you for joining us today for the legacy of our beloved Jim Washington,” Patrick said. 

He added that his father possessed an unparalleled gift of conversation and was always ready with a story of wisdom to share. 

“For me, he was an inspiration as well; his guidance and his unwavering support shifted me into the person that I am today, and for that, I’m forever grateful,” Patrick said. 

The Washington family asks for donations to “The Atlanta Voice” in his honor. 

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On January 22, a sea of red flooded the city hall as members of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter (AAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority entered for a special occasion. 

Post 1 At Large Councilman Michael Julian Bond presented the members with a proclamation at the city council meeting. It was recognizing the chapter’s century-long contributions to the city.

“I thought it was a fabulous day, extremely well attended and a fantastic occasion,” Bond said. 

Initially called the Sigma chapter in 1924, 11 Deltas founded the Post-graduate chapter to continue their endeavors to serve the Capital City through scholarship, sisterhood and service. 

The name officially changed to what it is today in 1958. The chapter used its five-point programmatic thrusts — educational development, international awareness, economic development, physical and mental health, and social action and political awareness — to help Atlanta residents. 

The first Black First Lady of Atlanta, Bunnie Jackson Ransom, former city council members Myrtle Davis and Cleta Winslow, and former city council member Carolyn Long Banks are currently serving in the chapter today.

During the event at City Hall, the constituents and council members gave special treatment to the “seasoned” members of the chapter, also called “Golden Deltas,” many of whom have been members of the sorority for over 50 years. 

“We were there, and the doors opened up, and there were escorts. They had APD people there, and everyone had their cameras and everything,” said Dr. Roslind Harper, President of AAC. “They came off the bus waving hands and saying, “Are we celebrities?”

All of the council members welcomed the VIPs in the atrium and hosted a reception prior to the ceremony. 

Bond said that his grandmother was an active sorority member and was honored to host the women at City Hall. 

“Whether through the general services that the sorority provides to the community or in extemporaneous rolls around the city, the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta has been there for Atlanta,” Bond said. 

Today, the AAC is working with Bond to create a task force to begin the conversation of reparations for Black Atlantans. 

To making reccommendations for amends that can be made for their enslaved descendants, the task force will discuss a solution for the city to atone for its previous actions.

“The AAC has been the impetus for the discussion of reparations in Atlanta and has led the charge on reparations in Atlanta,” Bond said. 

Harper says that African Americans need reparations as a way to be recognized for the contributions they have made to the city, the state and the country.

“It is imperative that reparations will make people more aware of what Black people contributed to the economy of the city and to the health and well-being of this city,” Harper said.

In addition to leading the discussion on reparations, servanthood is also another contribution the chapter has dedicated itself to. 

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, AAC members embarked on an impactful day of serving the Atlanta community with a citywide day of service. Over 100 members helped at nonprofit organizations across Atlanta. 

Women and children’s shelters, My Sister’s House and The Donna House, Meals on Wheels food distributor, Open Hand, welcomed volunteers with others deployed to Hurt Park off of Edgewood Ave. and Greenbriar Mall with pre-assembled toiletry bags and chili to those in need. 

“We have members in our chapter who were strategically placed in certain segments of the city and doing community outreach on their own,” Harper said. 

Harper said the day of impact was a seamless operation, but she can only imagine how the Atlanta Alumnae chapter will be impactful in the future. One goal she has this year is to raise over $100,000 in scholarships for deserving students and continue to be a stakeholder in helping the city reach its fullest potential.

“We’re not just wearing red suits and dresses. We’re here for a purpose: to see change take place,” Harper said. 

The Atlanta Alumnae’s next day of impact is scheduled for Sat. Apr. 13, with other events upcoming. 

Note: Allison Joyner is a member of the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.  

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The Center for Puppetry Arts’ latest show portrays the story of a little girl who experiences racism for the first time in the segregated South.

The show “Ruth and the Green Book” is adapted from Charles Alexander’s children’s book. It depicts the story of eight-year-old Ruth, who travels with her parents in their new green Buick, driving from their home in Chicago to visit her grandmother in Alabama in 1952. 

“Because they have to travel through the Jim Crow South, sometimes they run up against a few brick walls whenever they tried to go to a white-owned gas station or a “white’s only” motel and then get turned down because of segregation laws at the time,” said Judah Norman who plays Ruth’s mother and several other characters in the show. 

During their journey, a gas station attendant gave them a guidebook called “The Green Book” to help them safely maneuver through businesses like restaurants, gas stations and motels during their long car ride.

“There were addresses of safe places to get gas, spend the night or eat,” Norman said. There were locations of all the sundown towns, so they would tell you where not to be and where the safe places to hide if you were in one.”

From 1910 to 1970, over six million African Americans moved out of the Southern U.S. to other parts of the country because of poor economic and social conditions due to racial discrimination and Jim Crow laws. Many migrated to cities like New York City, Detroit, Los Angeles and Ruth’s hometown, Chicago, moved to what would become the Great Migration. 

With the vast number of job opportunities in these cities, the middle class included Blacks for the first time in American history. 

Ruth’s father was one of those migrants and became an insurance salesman in the midwestern city. When he bought his first car, he wanted to visit his mother, who still lived in the South. 

Officially called “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” it was written by a New York City postal worker named Victor H. Green, who used his connections to find minority-friendly businesses for middle-class Black motorists driving through the Southeast during this time. 

“As the audience is learning about what caused the need for “The Green Book” through the eyes of a child who’s experiencing it for the first time,” said Beth Schiavo, Executive Director for the Center for Puppetry Arts. 

She added that as time progresses, some of those stories and injustices soften, and those stories are not being told.

“One of the themes in the show was the importance of sticking together at the end of the show,” Norman said. 

Tara Lake, who plays Ruth, said that the children in the audience connected with Ruth and her experiences to the point where her life is in danger. 

“[The show] is an excellent opportunity to show young audiences how we can explore these issues and do so with a level of awareness and also do so while approaching the gravity of that moment,” Lake said. “But also doing so with a sense of possibility, and hope for what these young people can create.”

Schiavo thinks that textbooks are one-dimensional when describing Jim Crow in the South which could make anyone numb to the messaging. However, if you see it played out and pull back the layers of the different ways that it affected human life daily, it makes it feel real.

“I want people to see this show and walk out talking about it, having conversations saying “I learned a lot” or “that’s something that I’ve never heard before,’” Schiavo said. 

“Ruth and the Green Book” plays at the Center for the Puppetry Arts through Feb. 25.

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2024 marks 65 years since the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater’s U.S. tour, which celebrated the work of the titular dance choreographer and Black culture overall through music and movement. 

Since 1958, the company has been captivating audiences with its annual performances, which bring the gift of American dance to the world. Atlanta was the first stop on its tour, which has a special meaning to the ones involved in the process. 

Sylvia Waters, the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Ailey II dance troop, had no idea that the company would be around for 65 years when she was a former dancer. 

“Looking back 65 years is a testament to not only Mr. Ailey’s vision and insight and to the human condition but the duration of this — this beauty; this intelligence; this passion; this love — was built on a people who were dedicated, and still dedicated, taking into consideration what our humanity means for our survival, not just America but everywhere,” Waters said. 

In 1975, Waters was shocked when Ailey asked her to become the artistic director for his latest dance troop, “Ailey II.”

“When Alvin asked me to be director of the second company, it was a great opportunity. I had a family, and touring was really difficult, and he was very understanding about that, so he offered me the position,” Waters said. I never thought of being a company director. It seemed overwhelming, but I’m glad I said yes.”

In addition to Ailey’s 1960 masterpiece, “Revelations,” the company debuted its latest performances from its resident choreographers Ronald Brown, Kyle Abraham, Amy Hall Garner and  Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, which showcased Ailey’s artistry and technique in inspiring and different ways.

Waters said that the company is a community stakeholder in the city, especially to the arts and young people, which they plan to nurture for years. While in town, the company plans several community events for Atlantans to enjoy. 

The Center for Civil and Human Rights Truth on the Rocks event premiered “Revelations” during a workshop earlier this month.

The company also hosted a school-time performance at the Fox Theatre for children in the metro Atlanta area. The performance featured a conversation with the dancers and a performance of “Revelations.” 

REED MORE: AileyCamp hosts special presentation at High Museum of Art to celebrate Mayor Andre Dicken’s ‘Year of the Youth’

Every summer, the company’s AileyCamp embodies Ailey’s mission of using dance to impact youth positively and provides a safe space for them to stretch their minds, dream big and take steps towards a successful future.

Waters added that the audiences who experience the shows are a large part of the relationship between the city and the company, which has strengthened over the years.

For tickets for an upcoming show, visit their website. 

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