Hill Harper is a film and television actor best known for his work on CSI: NY. He received the Heroes in the Struggle Award from the Black AIDS Institute in 2007. Prior to that, Harper played a prisoner with AIDS in the 2000 film The Visit .
In 2006, he wrote a book about the way HIV/AIDS affects the black community entitled Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny. Written as a series of letters to teenagers in the black community who need guidance, the idea came as a response to the many letters and emails he received from young people as he toured the country to speak in high schools and colleges.
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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