Speaker warns: AIDS can strike anyone

In the 1980s, a sorority house at Ohio University had eight young women diagnosed HIV positive. Since that outbreak, the OU community has lost at least 35 lives to the subsequent disease called AIDS, according to Francine Childs, long-time African-American Studies professor at OU.

That was the topic Tuesday night when HIV/AIDS activist Anna E. Fowlkes spoke to OU students about properly protecting themselves.

"Get tested, get tested, get tested," she urged in a talk at the Baker Theatre in OU's Baker Center. "Knowledge is power. Knowing your status will empower you to take care of yourself."

Fowlkes, 65, is a widow, mother, grandmother and activist. She was diagnosed with HIV at 59 after her husband died, and she began a new relationship with a long-time friend. They became intimate when Fowlkes was 53, and at 59 she began to exhibit a startling symptom: chronic fatigue.

"My doorbell would ring, and I would think twice (about answering it), and so I knew something was wrong with my body," she recalled.

Fowlkes said she went to a clinic to get tested, and not to her surprise, tested positive for HIV. She reacted calmly and reminded students Tuesday evening that there is life after an HIV diagnosis. 

"It is not a death threat. I knew that I could live, and that I could live well," she said.

Throughout her presentation, her motto, "Are you positive; you are negative?," encouraged students to get tested regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. On campus, testing is done at Campus Care (formerly known as Hudson Health Center), and at Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Ohio (1005 E. State St.) you can get tested in about 20 minutes with a simple mouth swab.

With medication, Fowlkes assured that a long, healthy life is possible with HIV, but you must get tested to know if you need it. Similarly, getting tested lets you know your status, better enabling future protection.

"What you don't know can hurt you," she warned.

Her story is unique, but she cautioned students that the virus does not discriminate. 

"It is not an African problem; it's right here in the United States," she said. "Economically, it doesn't care how much money you have or how poor you are. It doesn't care if you live in a mansion or you're homeless. It doesn't care if you are working or unemployed, how educated you are or how ignorant you are."

Fowlkes also addressed myths associated with HIV/AIDS. Hugging, shaking hands and mosquito bites were all dismissed as impossible agents of transfer. She confirmed that women are at a higher risk than men to contract the virus, and that increasingly people over 50 have HIV because of medication enabling longer life after contraction.

The Black Student Cultural Programming Board and the OU Office of Multicultural Programs hosted the annual speech in conjunction with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Feb. 7.

"We have had great turnout for all of our speakers over the years. Students have always left saying 'Wow, that was really interesting,'" said Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, event organizer and adviser for the Black Student Cultural Programming Board.