Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive

Marvelyn Brown
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV Positive

One Wednesday, January 27th at 7:00pm, the Women's Coordinating Council presented Marvelyn Brown, a twenty five year old woman who was diagnosed as HIV positive when she was nineteen years old. Originally from Nashville, TN, since her diagnosis Brown not only engages with audiences from Rwanda to Canada, but also was awarded a 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding National Public Service Announcement. Brown has also written an autobiography “The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive, and is the CEO and Independent HIV Consultant for Marvelous Connections. The program began with some fast facts on HIV: “Every 5 seconds someone is infected with HIV/AIDs;” and a video featuring Brown during an interview relating some of her experiences as a HIV woman who travels around the world to speak about the virus: “I have had people say that I was disgusting...you should go kill yourself...you're making the United States look bad.”

After the introduction, Brown immediately takes the audience back to July 17th, 2003, the day she learned that she had contracted HIV: “I had been in the hospital for two, two in a half weeks and was running a fever of 106 degrees. The doctor told my mother that I had twenty four hours to live.” Fortunately, Brown was stabilized that night and told that she had contracted pneumonia. It was not until a little bit later that her doctor revealed to her that she was also HIV positive. Upon learning her diagnosis, Brown turned to her family and friends not only for support, but to also find out information on HIV. Instead of answers, however, Brown was shunned by her friends and held at a distance by her family. “Don't tell anyone,”was her mother's initial response, followed by “if anyone asks tell them you have cancer.” Going to church, was no better, as Brown was told that HIV was God's punishment for “fornicating.” From this rocky start Brown has since moved from waiting to die from HIV to traveling around the world and becoming renowned for her advocacy on HIV/AIDS education. “The three most important messages I want people to take from me are: get tested, educated, and be responsible.”

Some of the questions included:

“How do you deal with the dating scene, and do you plan on have kids on day?”
“Difficult...I always tell that I'm positive. I get different reactions...one guy said if I didnt want to talk to him thats all I had to say...but now I'm more approached than before, and usually disclosure is not a problem because of the settings I meet people in. I do plan on having kids one day, and there are many ways for me to have children and insure that they are HIV negative.”

“What are the physical effects that you have to deal with now that you did not have before (your diagnosis)?”
“None, besides the medicine.”

“How is the relationship with your family now that you're an (HIV) advocate?”
“They are supportive of me, but there are still trust issues.”

“Have you noticed if certain regions/countries differ in their approach to sex education?”
“Mostly in the Bible Belt, but understand that (HIV) stigma is universal.”

“Can a blood transfusion get rid of the virus?”
“That may be possible, but because the virus can live in the organs, it would not be a possible option for everyone. Believe me, I would have done it by now.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Celebration

This past Monday, on January 18th, 2010, the Black Cultural Programming Committee held the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Celebration. This program commemorates the life of the Civil Rights Movement leader while also meditating on the responsibilities of those who benefit from this legacy to renew and fulfil “The Dream.”

An upbeat piece performed by Love United Gospel Choir Band followed by a jazzier piece by the Ice Cold Experience set the mood for the beginning of the program. After the introduction of the program by Deonfreya Johnson, Dereldia Clendering introduces the short play “The Meeting,” written by Jeff Stetson. With Mario Fortney and Ace Brooks portraying Dr. King and Malcolm X, the skit brings to life the possible conversation the two men could have had during their lives. LUGC follows the play with the songs “ I Will Bless Thee O Lord/Praise Him,” “Christ Has No Hands But Yours,” and “All in His Hands.” LUGC's Praise Team performed a stunning interpretive piece to Kirk Franklin's “Chains.”

Dawn Woods then guides the program to Reflections, where four speakers: each representing the four generations that have arrived to adulthood since the time of the Civil Rights Movement.

The first speaker up was Cory Hipps, the Vice President of the Student Government Association and an undergraduate at the university. Hipps's reflection, “Carrying on the Dream,” illustrated Hipps's quest to not only understand the struggles of his parents and their families, but also his role in renewing and fulfilling the dream of Dr. King. Hipps recalled an experience that his mother-an elementary school teacher-had with one of her students about his fear of being disowned from his parents: “Your color will rub off on me and I wont be able to go home.” Hipps involvement with community service and mentoring is directly related to the struggles and achievements of his forbears.

The next speaker, Stephanie Hill, is a doctoral candidate at the university and also the Project Coordinator for Project GRAD. Hill's reflections, “Renewal of the Dream,” provoke thoughtful questions on the nature of humankind and challenged students to not only look underneath the surface of the world that they live in but to engage it more fully by “renewing” King's Dream with our everyday actions. Students should continue to struggle with their dual natures of “altruism and narcissism,” and carefully exam the influence of Man's dual nature in the world around them.

Following Hill was Tearsa Smith, a graduate of Florida A&M University and news anchor of WATE News. Smith's “Whats Your Legacy?” provoked the students to think about the type of legacy they wanted to leave to their children. She asked students to not “get so drunk with your power, money and success and forget what your role is...someone before you did the work so that you can enjoy your time here at Rocky Top.”

The last speaker, Dr. Shaedrick Tillman, was the former Vice Chancellor of Research at U.T. His reflections “Dreams and Service,” touched on the transcendence of Dr. King's Dream has over time, and that service was for the individual the “rent you pay for the space you occupy in this world.”


Overall, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration was a beautiful program that not only commemorated the past, but also called on those in the present to build their legacies for future generations.