MAC AIDS Fund Brings People of Color to the Forefront of Their Popular Campaigns (2004)
Whereas male rap artists made an entire rap album about AIDS in 1996, female rappers and singers brought attention to the AIDS epidemic through the Viva Glam campaign of MAC Cosmetics' AIDS Fund. MAC AIDS Fund puts out specific shades and brands of lipstick, and the entirety of the purchase price goes toward fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. Tapped for the first Viva Glam campaign were artists Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim and Eve, all of whom are black women.
Viva Glam's most recent spokespeople, Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin, continue the trend of artists of color spreading messages around HIV awareness.
Comment by: AnAppealToCommonSense
(USA)
Fri., Feb. 15, 2013 at 4:06 am EST
Hi. I don't think Nelson Mandela should be included in this list. While his struggle against apartheid was admirable and he had an enormous task of uniting the nation once elected, one of the biggest problems of his presidency was ignoring the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. If you're going to include a former or current African president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia is a better choice, as he was the first to publicly admit to his son having died of AIDS and has been involved in HIV/AIDS work since. I'd say Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, too, but his recent stances on condoms and homosexuality are negating his past leadership (Kaunda, along with Festus Mogae, back gay rights). And I'd also say that 46664 is nowhere near as important as the work Zachie Achmat with Treatment Action Campaign (I know he's considered "colored" in SA, so I'm thinking he must have some black ancestry) or the late Winston Zulu in Zambia, both widely known HIV/AIDS activists. If this is only about Black Americans, then why is Nelson Mandela included? Again, I admire the man for much of his work, but he's already received enough accolades, and his inclusion comes at the expense of others who are more deserving of praise in this topic.
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