Hydeia Broadbent Addresses Republican National Convention About AIDS (1996)
Hydeia Broadbent was abandoned and adopted as an infant in Las Vegas. She was born with HIV, and it progressed to AIDS by the time she was 3. Her prognosis was that she would not live past the age of 5. Hydeia says, "People think because I was born with HIV my story does not apply to them. Well, this same disease I am living with is the same disease you can get if you don't practice safe sex and know your HIV status and the HIV status of your sexual partner."
At 12 years old she spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention, telling the audience, "I am the future and I have AIDS." Widely considered the most active youth to speak about HIV since Ryan White, she now tours worldwide to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. She has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, Good Morning America, and Nickelodeon. She has been featured in The New York Times, People, Essence, Ebony, POZ and more. She has also spoken at Duke University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College, UCLA, USC and Howard University.
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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