Kwame Dawes Research Paper

“Two hundred thousand Americans are dead or dying” Two hundred thousand Americans, two hundred thousand brothers, friends, loved ones, all fighting a war; this war is not fought in foreign countries, this war is HIV/AIDS (“American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher”). Sadly, Mary Fisher is one of the many victims that are crushed by the heartbreaking diagnostic of being HIV positive, however, this was her alarm to the severity of the virus. As a result, Fisher dedicated her life to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS. In addition to the jaw-dropping speech, Fisher, has dedicated her whole life to the awareness of AIDS, through her store, biographies, non-profitable organizations, and many more. However, “A Whisper of AIDS” is the first domino in her line of work to break the “shroud of silence” known as AIDS (“American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher”).Fisher spoke from the heart, and as well as the mind in “A Whisper of AIDS”, which effectively touched the hearts of many and did exactly what she hoped it would, turned the whisper of the word AIDS into a shout spoken from numerous to prevent fear in the hearts of many. In order to show the dire importance of awareness of HIV/AIDS, Fisher, Effectively uses heartbreaking pathos, strong logos, and persuasive ethos.

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator and New York Times Bestselling author of 24 books. In 2015, his book, The Crossover, received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize (Kwame Alexander Bio,2017). Alexander travels the world to inspiring young people and plant the “seeds of literary love.” He is( the square root of 64 multiplied by four minus five plus the number of NBA championship rings Phil Jackson has plus the age of my six-year-old minus one) years old. Kwame Alexander believes poetry can change the world.

HIV/AIDS has been responsible for one of the worst epidemics in history. In her book “The Invisible Cure” Helen Epstein details why Africa in particular was so devastated by the disease, which countries failed and which succeeded in the struggle to contain the virus, and why this happened. Epstein highlights a particular phenomenon, that first took place in Uganda, but which can be translated to many countries and situations, and which she calls “the invisible cure.”

The story focuses on how Chanda and the people around her are affected by AIDS. In the community that Chanda lives in, mentioning AIDS is taboo, and when Chanda felt the loss of her loved ones, she had difficulty finding anyone to talk to. When it was revealed that Chanda’s mother had AIDS, Chanda wanted to change what her community thought of the disease, “I’m tired of lies and hiding and being afraid. I’m not ashamed of AIDS! I’m ashamed of being ashamed” (Stratton 181). Rather than tolerating the truth and hiding from her community, Chanda wanted to teach people that AIDS should not be taboo. She wants them to accept that AIDS is a reality and it is a disease many are affected by. Chanda, Mrs. Tafa, and Esther, who were not afraid of the truth, inspired people to be less sensitive when bringing up the topic of AIDS. Personally, it is understandable why the people in Chanda’s community don’t want to bring up the topic of AIDS. It is human nature to avoid what we fear as our natural instincts tell us to flee from reality. This is related to our human condition, as all humans are terrified by death. Although, if one person bravely stands, many others are empowered to stand up and face their fear. Through her story, Chanda taught the readers that acceptance can be empowering and cause a positive chain reaction of

As part of their reaction to AIDS, Haitians had a propensity to attribute the existence of AIDS to poor populations. AIDS is indeed more prevalent among the lower socioeconomic class in Haiti, but the perception as to why this pattern occurred went beyond the simple interpretation that AIDS was a disease of the poor. In The Exotic and The

The film describing an ordinary woman Noerine Kaleeba devoting herself fighting social stigma around AIDS in Uganda is a powerful scene. Her personal account of seeing her husband dying from AIDS propelled her to fly to Geneva to meet with Jonathan Mann, the leading researcher in the global AIDS program. When she arrived at the WHO building, she was rejected to meet with Mann. However, her emotional response caught Mann’s attention and when she sat down with Mann, he told her that her husband is going to die. But Mann asked Kaleeba “there is a prejudice that is attached to this disease that we have to fight, and will you help me fight it?” Kaleeba later became the co-founder of the AIDS activism group “The AIDS Support Organization,” a group that provides care, support and counselling as well as community education for prevention in Uganda. In this scene, Jonathan Mann recognized an important social factor of the disease which is that AIDS is attached to a serious stigma and discrimination. Due to the fact that there is

One important scene in the film ‘The Age of Aids’ is “Port Au Prince, Haiti”. In this scene it outlines the conditions in Haiti, which were very poor and it turn left the city defenseless against the new disease. In 70’s and 80’s the disease began to be seen by doctors and priests who were being sought after to cure a unseen disease which left the people with the “look of death, [making them] so skinny you could see their bones”. The scene then goes on to take a look at one of the first HIV clinics in Port Au Prince, which was opened in the roughest parts of town. One of the surprising things that this clinic found when they were looking at the patients coming in was that the mean they were analyzing had more

The authors Van Rooyen, Frood, & Ricks, (2012) stipulated that AIDS is a disease that affects not only the individual but also the entire family. They embarked on a journey to convey the experiences of AIDS orphans living in a township, situated in the Eastern Cape of Africa. The title is substantiated because only the orphans have the experience.

For the Chicago native Devonte Ingram he would have to step up in a life or death situation because when he was about to lose all he had left he held on. It was about 7:30 on a Monday night and Devonte walking a few steps in front of his sister (Diavonnie Ingram) when the unthinkable happened "I bent down to tie my shoe and then I felt something lift me up from the back of my book bag then tried to throw me in the van," said Diavonnie Ingram Devonte unknowingly walking ahead suddenly heard his sisters cry’s rushed into the rescue "I just had to pull her legs until I had started screaming and he had let go," Devonte Ingram said. Finally the man had let go but he wasn’t giving up "She had moved her arms so the book bag could slip off and then

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

let's go back in time to the island of kahoolawe before the bombing if the united states did not take over illegally the island of kahoolawe wouldn't have been bombed and we would have another island for us. since it got bombed we can't do anything on the island because of the bombs that never exploded if it wasn't for the navy we would have our island still yet and we wouldn't have to rely on the united states of america the land of the crooks. they illegally occupied us. if they ever decide to pull out and leave us stranded it would be over for us that's why i think we would be better of if we didn't get occupied illegally back in the day.

More than 90% of the infections came from the global south. In class we have discussed how underfunded third world countries like Africa are. Their women can’t afford contraceptives let alone medicine to prevent HIV. Women in areas like these don’t have many civil rights and depend on the help of others to aide them. The article talks about how there is new aides available but the road blocks of getting it to the people who need it interfere greatly. The topic of aids is not discussed like it should be. The effect it can have on one’s life is greatly underestimated by today’s youth. It has to be understood that the disease is still out there and a cure hasn’t come to the surface yet. It’s dangerous and life threatening and young people need to be educated on

The virus began its insidious spread through the country’s various populations and communities. The virus systematically spread through the entire Nigerian social fabric, affecting men and women across all social strata. Nigeria is located in West Africa with a population of more than 170 million people (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). It is diverse country with more than 374 ethnic groups, 500 indigenous languages, and various religions (National Population Commission (NPC), 2009). When the Nigerian public was informed about the presence of this virus in their country, they were doubtful and astonished. AIDS was perceived to be a American disease. Adolescents were very sceptical about the virus in their environment. They interpreted it

When one thinks of looking at the experiences of people who have HIV/AIDS, two things may come to mind. The first thing may be the diversity of people who are actually living with HIV/AIDS around them. The second thing may be is how frequently and in how many ways people with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized and discriminated against. That being said, sometimes it may appear that all the people who are living with HIV/AIDS may be alike in only two ways such as having contracted the HIV/AIDS infection and being stigmatized and discriminated against for having HIV/AIDS. Stigma and discrimination tend to cancel out all of society’s empathy and humanity as a whole. The result of such harsh discrimination and stigmatization may cause an individual with

AIDS is a disease that no one wanted to talk about years ago. It was not a popular topic to discuss in public, and it carried the social stigma of shame and embarrassment. As the AIDS