HIV, Hairdos and Tickets to See "Lutha"

HIV, Luther and hair? It's an odd mix that's got some around Sensation's Beauty Salon in a South Los Angeles mini-mall murmuring. But for Tony Wafford, a community activist, it makes perfect sense. "Right here, everybody talks about just about everything -- world religion, politics, dope and sex -- and sex!" He reaches into his bag and pulls out a fistful of festive red and white bundles -- not candy canes but condoms. And the main event: Luther Vandross concert tickets that he waves like a fan. They are the centerpiece of his new AIDS awareness campaign, "Fighting HIV through R&B."

It may sound odd -- all of it -- the condom jars, the plain-speak literature papering the shops of South LA hair stylists, the offer to trade tickets for AIDS tests. But Wafford's campaign isn't just a floorshow. Already, out of about 600 people tested, 35 have tested positive -- the youngest 16, the oldest, 45. Wafford, 45 and a former publicist, knows the currency of a big name. He persuaded Alan Haymon, a prominent African-American concert promoter who handles acts like Vandross, Destiny's Child and rapper DMX, to come up with tickets. Agouron Pharmaceuticals agreed to provide testing materials.

A test run with a Destiny's Child concert in Irvine, Calif., went smoothly in September. Wafford figured that the romantic balladeer Vandross would attract black women, who have been slow to get tested but who account for 64 percent of new HIV cases among females. Haymon provided 100 tickets for the LA date. Already, Wafford is exploring setting up partnerships with community clinics at various concert stops from Seattle to Baltimore. Haymon will be donating more than 8,000 tickets.

What Wafford has found most encouraging about the program so far is the strength of the community network it has tapped without newspaper advertising or radio promotion -- just powerful word of mouth. "You don't need a government grant or handout to do this," says Wafford. "We can help each other. Too many people still talking about 'AIDS comes from the white man, AIDS is a gay disease.' Now the white man ain't in the room with you telling you not to put the condom on, now is he?"

Back to other CDC news for December 12, 2001

Previous Updates