Thoughts from Lillie Jackson of The National Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council

Viewing this powerful documentary film gave me the urge to
 run out and tell all of my Capacity Building colleagues about the
 film "All of Us". I feel it is a necessary tool for anyone working in the field of women, substance abuse and gender empowerment.
 This film could be used in booster session of SISTA intervention. Heart
 filled thanks to Chevelle and Tara who star in the film for being so courageous and brave
 for telling their stories. 
This film shows that no matter what your educational expertise is; every woman is at risk of HIV/AIDS/STD if she is not assertive in intimate moments. We need to start a conversation about relationships. and Dr.
 Mandefro is the town crier to wake up all women.


Lillie Jackson
Regional Coordinator
National Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council
www.nbacinc.org

Reaction from Sherri Lewis, HIV/AIDS activist

I viewed All Of Us this evening and want to congratulate you for this important film. It is very much a teaching tool, but also more than that. It tells many stories, from that of the young African-American doctor to the black women in the Bronx and rural and urban America (like New Orleans), and the connection to Ethiopia where things are very much the same. 

The outreach, training, messages for prevention and issues that are so important are addressed through facts and through the women who share their stories and experiences. As someone who has been going into classrooms and neighborhoods for 15 years talking about HIV prevention and sharing my own HIV story and information about needle exchange programs and counseling for addicts, I can attest that this film touches on all the facts about the underlying cause for HIV which is behavior. Low self-esteem is not just a black women's issue. Having worked with minority women and men, both straight and gay, I can say that this is a shame-based disease connected to low self-esteem. Whether they were estranged from their fathers or families, or beaten up by society, low self-esteem drives the connection between sexual behavior, drug abuse and HIV infection. It is a strong message and while in the film, it addresses black women specifically, it also connects the dots to the bigger picture. At least it did for me, but I'm always looking to see a big picture.

As a teaching tool, especially for young doctors, this film is most important, as it shows the personal relationship doctors can have with their HIV patients. Because HIV is often a chronic disease, the relationship with one's doctor can last for many, many years. Someone you see every 4 months, year after year, becomes your friend. This is unique to chronic illness, and also a sign of the times in a doctor's training. In the past, doctors were taught to keep a certain distance, a professional stance with their patient. This has changed, in my experience, with the doctors I have had over the past 23 years. I call my doctor here in L.A. by her first name and we e-mail frequently. My doctor back east and I still stay in touch and we look forward to seeing each other when I come into Boston where his practice is. These patient/doctor relationships are unique because of the generation of doctors today and the nature of chronic illness. I feel fortunate to have doctors like this. A new line of physician, not like the ones I grew up with or my parents had, but doctors who are humanized by their patients and allow themselves to be touched by their experience. In doing so, they become more compassionate care takers and their own lives are enriched. That is what Dr. Mehret expresses in her experience with her patient and is captured so eloquently in this film.

The film is also visually beautiful to watch. The choice of black and white photography in the beginning and the end brings the story full circle, and the color photography where life begins is full of warmth and light, telling stories about HIV, its hardships, tragedies and victories. 

Thank you for sharing this film with me. After seeing this film, I feel it truly is about All of Us. Well done.

--Sherri Lewis, HIV/AIDS Activist, Hollywood, CA

Listen to Sherri's podcast, Straight Girl in a Queer World.
Read an article about Sherri in POZ magazine.

Reaction from Project Assistant at NBAC

I work for the National Black Alcoholism & Addictions Council, Inc. (NBAC) located in Orlando, FL. Our mission is to provide leadership for the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism and other drugs of abuse, and HIV/AIDS. I just wanted to thank you. I saw a preview of the movie All of Us and it is what is needed in the community. Being a former New Yorker, I saw the realness of the patients and the doctor. The first thing I noticed was a doctor making a house call... wow! Now that is a big difference in patient care. The movie was great--it showed the reality of us (people) as a whole, being human. There is so much stigma about HIV/AIDS... no one wants to talk or deal with it until it is too late. To think that HIV/AIDS can be prevented if people would just pay attention...

Once you get HIV/AIDS, it is a life-altering disease. You still can live, but it changes your life in so many different ways. Wake up America, it is happening to "all of us,” especially our children. Did you know that a child of 13 years of age can be tested and receive treatment without the consent of parents? What if this was your child with a positive result, now left to face the world and the disease alone?

I will do what I can to help promote this movie. It is a great educational tool, and is perfect for training purposes. Keep spreading the word. It can’t be cured, but it can be prevented…

Thank you for your support and efforts for fighting this battle.

--Alexa Rosado, Project Assistant, NBAC HIV/AIDS

Reaction from HIV Prevention Program Manager at Columbus AIDS Task Force

This film drives home the critical message that we have to start talking openly, honestly and publicly not just about wearing condoms every time we physically engage in sex (oral, anal, vaginal), but about the psycho-social issues that surround intimacy-- economics, control, power, infidelity, violence, etc. We need to develop k-12 youth sexuality programs (not simply sex education classes) that address issues of personal space/ appropriate touch, self confidence, self respect and communication in addition to information on the reproductive system, anatomy, physical intimacy and HIV/STI/ pregnancy prevention.
 
In the US, approximately 85% of the total population completes 10th grade--let’s reach that captive audience with defined sexuality curriculums that build skills and provide accurate sexual health information. Empower youth to develop safe and healthy sexual behaviors from the very beginning. Current prevention programs focus on behavior change; we approach individuals after they have fallen into behavior patterns that put them at risk for HIV. I say “fallen” because I truly believe the youth of American are not given enough sexual health information to make a “sex plan”. They stumble into physically intimate situations and learn from so and so’s boyfriend’s sister that…
 
Yes, it is an uphill battle (it maybe more appropriate to say it’s a vertical wall we need to scale), but the sooner we start climbing, the sooner our collective “baby steps” will effect change for future generations.
 
I think the quote at the end of the movie is powerful-- we make the road by walking.  It’s time to start strolling, ladies.

--Bridget L. DeCrane, MLIS, HIV Prevention Program Manager, Columbus AIDS Task Force

A word from Chevelle who is featured in All of Us

I would like to thank GOD almighty first because without him, there would be no me. I would like to thank William (BILL) Goeren: If it had not been for you, Bill, I would not have had the opportunity to do such a heartfelt film. Bill, I love you more than words can say. Thanks for being part of my support team. I would like to thank my husband, ROBERT, for putting up with all my mess from beginning to end. I LOVE YOU and always will no matter what! 

Then, I would like to thank my spiritual family: REV.TORRENCE ROBINSON, pastor of GETHSEMANE BAPIST CHURCH in The Bronx. Also REV. ROMERO WALTON for encouragement to keep that dream alive. I received my GED with his help. Thank you so much for all your love and support in making this film. GOD bless the GBC family. 

Thanks to my mom PATRICIA WATKINS who has always been there for me. No matter if I was wrong or right, she would let me know either way. I LOVE YOU with all my heart. You know me better than anybody in this world and you keep me positive and that's a real good thing for me. 

To my fans: This film means more than just telling my life story. This film is about resistance to the disease. You have to control the VIRUS, not let it control you!!! I want people to really see the reality of life if they are not careful... especially OUR YOUNG generation... these REAL LIFE stories could possibly be their stories. Everytime I look at the FILM, I cry because I have come a long way from the beginning to end of the film, and whoever watches this film I know will feel the same way, too. 

REVA, EMILY and the rest of the Pureland Pictures crew: Thanks for dealing with my mood swings during filming, but filming with Emily wasn't a piece of cake (ha-ha), but as you can see this is a GREAT film. So please enjoy it, learn from it and believe it!!

-- Chevelle Wilson

Greeting from the All of Us Outreach Coordinator

I’m very excited to be a part of the distribution efforts for Pureland’s timely film All of Us and the community we are building around it. Now that the film is finally completed and people are starting to see it and talk about it, its relevance becomes clear in this pre-election year.

Having lived and worked in Uganda for many years, I am familiar with a nation facing a devastating HIV/AIDS crisis. In the mid-90s, when the epidemic was at its peak, I went to far too many funerals. No family was spared, HIV/AIDS was everywhere. But Uganda was one of the first African countries to come forth and tell the world about its alarming infection rate. The AIDS pandemic in Uganda quickly took center stage on the international scene and paired with an aggressive national grassroots awareness campaign and the assistance of the international community, within a few years Uganda became one of the first African countries to lower its rate of infection. During my years there I also realized how sexist and racist this disease could be: in Uganda, women bear the brunt of the diseases primarily due to their power differential with men. However, I never imagined that I would be faced with this reality again upon my return to North America… The big difference is that this time, no one seems to want to hear about it!

This is why this film is so important to me, as it brings people together, from all walks of life, to talk about sex, their bodies and the HIV/AIDS crisis now facing the nation that is not being acknowledged or adequately addressed.All of Us brings us to ask why this situation is not being talked about and forces us to take it upon ourselves to do something about it.

When I attended the recent Women and HIV Prevention Conference at the Borough of Manhattan Community College on March 13th, I realized how much professionals and activists working in the field of HIV/AIDS desire to have the issue of African American Women and HIV/AIDS covered in the media and how difficult it is to do so.

As I exchanged, shared and debated with my discussion group about the issue of black women’s representation in the media, there was a real sense that women of color want to re-appropriate control over their body and its representation. I believe that All of Us is one of the few films at the moment that not only addresses the issue of HIV/AIDS amongst women of color, but also talks to us, not only women of color but to all of about what we need to do to change the situation.

From the reactions All of Us got at the Cleveland film festival where both screenings were sold out and the audience was clamoring to get copies of the film, to the comments from the women at Housing Works’ new Women’s Health Center and the reaction of a male executive at a National Organization (visit our endorsements page to see what's been said so far) it becomes clear that there is a real urgency to get the film out there. That All of Us does something that hasn’t yet been done. Not only does it make us relate to the issue but it also makes us want to take action.

--Ssanyu Kalibbala, Outreach Coordinator for All of Us