Endgame: AIDS in Black America

Although many Americans believe that AIDS—first clinically recognized over 30 years ago—is now under control, this PBS-aired Frontline documentary from writer-director Renata Simone notes that AIDS remains a "hidden epidemic" within the African-American community, too often met with silence and stigma. Initially, many blacks felt that AIDS was a plague affecting mostly white gay men. One woman who tested positive for the virus ruefully admits, "HIV and normal didn't go together, so I thought." Many within the black community adhered to the adage "don't put your business on the streets," which led gay black men into double lives, secretly frequenting clubs and engaging in risky behavior (historically, the black church also frowned on gay sexuality). Other factors also made their mark, including the explosion of drug use and sharing of needles in the 1980s, the high incarceration rate for young black males (who would eventually return to the community with the virus), and the lack of committed civil rights leaders during the AIDS years. The documentary looks at how basketball star Magic Johnson's AIDS diagnosis put a human face on the problem, but the national lack of political engagement prevented progress. Various figures are interviewed here, including straight teens, a middle-aged woman who married and contracted the virus from an "in the closet" church deacon, and "bornies"—i.e., black teenagers who acquired the virus from their drug-addicted mothers. Misguided government initiatives—essentially reducing needle exchanges and condom distribution—haven't helped, but improved medications and increased community activism provide glimmers of hope. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)