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Lillie Jackson

Lillie Jackson of the National Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council made my day today! After viewing All of Us the movie she has started using Truth Circles in her work. She took it upon herself to pay me a visit on the job in West Philadelphia. I was filming a Truth Circle with a group of young women. Lillie participated in the discussion with her words of wisdom. Lillie has been engaged in HIV work since the 1990s and has much to share. She is using the TruthAIDS Truth Circles idea in her HIV prevention work with young men. I was so happy to hear the idea is spreading. It will take a village to decrease the rate of HIV in the hardest hit communities. Lillie's visit was a reminder that many have been and are already working towards this goal. Her parting words were appropriate: "Stay strong."

Flies on Babies

Just read a BBC article on yet another famine in Ethiopia and watched the video ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7444753.stm ). Anytime Ethiopia is in the news the visual images are usually flies on babies. As a daughter of Ethiopia, living in the land of plenty, these images always leave me with mixed feelings. I either want to buy my plane ticket tomorrow and start working there, or I think about the countless Ethiopian stories of triumph that never make it to a public stage. In both scenarios there are fragments of my human identity: guilt and pride. Being a physician changes my views on both.

Guilt has no therapeutic utility in the physician-patient interaction. In fact, it gets in the way of healing because it obscures the path to the solution. The fact is, we know what to do in order to get Ethiopia fed. The same agrarian revolution that happened in India thirty years ago needs to happen in Ethiopia. What are we waiting for? Pictures of more flies on babies? Perhaps we should reverse the gaze to confront our own role in allowing this tragedy to continue despite the unprecedented wealth and knowledge of the 21st century. Perhaps the flies are clouding our own vision... not the babies'.

Pride is equally useless to me as a physician. The patient is the teacher...end of story. In order to heal, I have to listen and translate the unadulterated truth from the perspective of the patient. You ever wonder what a baby covered with flies would say? Put away your camera and feed me.

Something special...

.... is happening in Philadelphia. It seems like every time I turn around I find a new partnership ready to be had. Today I was at Christ Community Baptist Church in West Philadelphia helping plan a march. Apparently, my zip code, along with the neighboring 19104 zip code has the highest cases of HIV in West Philly. I had the pleasure of meeting yet another visionary pastor, Rev White, who has made it his mission to rally his church and his zip code to do something about it. So, September 27, 2008 we are planning a march on the streets of Philly to educate, motivate, and test. I will be interviewing Rev White as part of the new Philly-based documentary.

Towards Nonviolence

The last day of the Stop the Violence Conference in Philadelphia was enlightening. Many lessons were learned. Rev Dandridge Collins, author of the Trauma Zone, led the session on what it takes to create a nonviolent community. All participants, young and old, brainstormed an action plan for the next steps that would have to be taken. I shared my own thoughts about the connection between HIV prevention and violence prevention. Community members with the help of city officials and the police also bought guns off the street for cash incentives. The entire event was recorded as part of a TruthAIDS documentary. Clips from the conference will be posted on the TruthAIDS You Tube Channel (www.youtube.com/truthaids). This project begins a new series on healing that is grounded in practical steps.

Mill Creek Baptist Church

I just got back from the first day of the Stop the Violence Conference at Mill Creek Baptist Church  in West Philadelphia. It's a small church with a big spirit.  I was filming the event and almost dropped the camera twice because I was so moved by the program.  The evening started out with a group of children clapping to a beat and rhyming about changing the world. Their voices were strong and they stood tall. Soon after, Reverend Dandridge Collins, author of Trauma Zone, gave a powerful talk on truth telling.

After the sermon he opened it up to the crowd and led a massive truth circle on violence, healing, and why being a truth teller will get you killed.  The footage will speak for itself but suffice it to say it was deep.  We ended the night with Pastor McCabe reading a letter she received from an inmate in prison who had read that the conference was happening.  He wrote the letter to the audience to let us know that everyone behind the bars was hoping the conference would go well.  Tomorrow is the "homework" task of the TruthCircle on violence where we come up with an action plan for how to create a nonviolent community. 

Stay tuned to the TruthAIDS You Tube channel for the footage (www.youtube.com/truthaids).

Rainbow Tribe

I spent memorial day weekend with two moms, eight kids, five dogs, and five cats. The kids were all shades and mostly adopted. The two women at the head of the household had a habit of bringing kids home.  Their stated reason was simple: there's always more love to give.  I watched in amazement.  It was the fullest household I had ever seen and it was the home of David's niece. The kids were his "flowers" (ages 6 to 20) and he insisted I meet them with the camera.

The discussion was lively and real. Race and ethnicity was the subject of the day. I sat and listened as the rainbow tribe recounted the ridiculous situations they had confronted as a family that defies conventional classifications.   I was hooked. The siblings represented every stereotype, personality, and disability but the love was authentically blood.  The motley crew was a perfect complement to David's personality.  He was in his element surrounded by his flowers. We finished off the evening with David on the piano and everyone singing. It was a memorable day.