Not in My Family: AIDS in the African-American Community

by Gil L. Robertson IV

At long last, the time has come: the time for African American people to face the scourge that has affected it disproportionately for years, and to break through the cultural inhibitions that have prevented them from dealing with it head on. This landmark collection of personal essays, stories, brief memoirs, and polemics from a broad swath of black Americans-whether prominent figures from the worlds of politics, entertainment, or sports, or just ordinary folks with extraordinary -stories whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS-will galvanize public attention around this issue.

Author and journalist Gil Robertson first conceived this "gripping and heartfelt patchwork," as he calls it, when his older brother was diagnosed with HIV. As he writes in his introduction, "As I've watched my family move through the various stages of his illness and hear similar stories from others, I began to realize that my family was not alone. There are countless other families waging the same fight with this disease, and I wanted to connect with them so we would feel even more so empowered to wage battle."

Robertson has enlisted a remarkable group of contributors to give voice to their impassioned thoughts and feelings. A partial list includes: from politics, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Al Sharpton; from music, Patti LaBelle; from film and TV, Mo'Nique, Jasmine Guy, Hill Harper, and Sheryl Lee Ralph; and from letters, Randall Robinson and Omar Tyree-among many, many others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

277 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on the fence about this body of work but I'm going to give it an edge because it was somewhat educational in terms of terminology and statistics. Very thoughtful glossary of terms and list of resources for those that want help or get involved. I purchased this book because I'm fascinated with memoirs and personal essays and I will say that some of the essays were really touching while others seemed to be full of repeated statistics and political talking points. I understand that the contributors were a mixture of everyday people, celebrities, religious people, and politicians so you get a mixed bag of view points. I really enjoyed the essays that were coming from individuals that are suffering from HIV/AIDS or knew someone who had it. The tools that are necessary for us to combat the epidemic as it relates to the African diaspora was very clear with the promotion of abstinence, education about HIV/AIDS, promotion of condom use, knowing ones status, and demanding more from individuals with a platform. Individuals with a platform include religious leaders who refuse to talk about the HIV/AIDS problem, entertainers, and politicians. This book is an easy read and you will gain important information from it. My issue with the book was the bombardment of stats, numbers, and dates. I also felt that the essays should have been grouped according to who the essayist was or represented. For instance put essays coming from a religious point of view in a section, personal accounts and experiences in a section, entertainers in a section, and political figures accounts in a section.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presents some interesting perspectives on HIV in the African American community. However, after the first third many of the essays began to sound alike. There was a lot repetition of basic facts, and less discussion of specific ways to address the disproportionate impact of HIV on African Americans. A few longer essays that went more in-depth and spoke more personally about HIV or potential solutions might have resonated more with me. Still worth a read for anyone working in HIV or wanting to learn more.

[Tiffani]

to finish reading, really, ran out of time and need to turn it in. . .