“Make sure you’re taking your meds, hopefully become comfortable with
your status and make sure you’re doing your regimen,” Johnson said as he
stepped off the speakers platform to be closer to the audience.
Johnson refuted rumors that he was on any special kind of drugs or treatment because of his fame and fortune.
“It’s
nothing magical about this,” he said. “The same drugs you are on, I’m
on. We have to make sure we’re handling our business. Early detection
saved my life.”
Joining Johnson on the platform were City of Miami
Commissioners Michelle Spence-Jones, Francis Suarez and Marc Sarnoff;
Hollywood writer, producer and director Robert Townsend; and Brian
Palmer, director of Clear Health Alliance, a specialty
Medicaid health plan for people living with HIV/AIDS.
The
city and Clear Health Alliance sponsored the event in which
participants marched from the Macy’s store in downtown Miami to the John
F. Kennedy Torch of Friendship in front of Bayside for the World AIDS
Day Tree of Life Walk and Lighting Ceremony and candlelight vigil in
memory of loved ones who have died from the disease.
The ceremony
also honored the legacies and significant contributions of late
community heroes, Petra Johnson, HIV/AIDS advocate and founder of
Empower U, and Alphonse Moise, HIV/AIDS activist and case manager.
Miami-Dade,
Broward and Palm Beach counties lead the rest of the country in new
cases of HIV/AIDS. One in 99 Miami-Dade County residents is living with
the virus or the disease. In the black community the number is one in 31
males and one in 42 females.
“It’s time for us to realize that with
treatment there is life with this illness,” Palmer said. “It does not
have to cause death. The answer is to test and know your status. If you
are positive get in care. If you are in care, stay in care.”
The message was personal for George Mack, a 61-year-old Miami native who has been living with HIV for 27 years.
“Through the grace of God I’m still healthy. I’ve lost numerous friends, associates and classmates since I was first
diagnosed,”
Mack said. “I think what they’re doing here is great because it’s all
about awareness and education. When I was first diagnosed there was a
lot of ignorance about the virus but events like this help educate our
young people.”
Mack also said that, like Johnson, early detection and sticking to his regime helped save his life.
“Early
detection is very important because you can’t solve a problem until you
first admit that you have a problem, the earlier the better, instead of
waiting until it’s possibly too late,” Mack said. “It’s not a death
sentence as it once was. People are living longer with the virus but
it’s a culmination of taking your medicine as prescribed, having a good
diet and praying.”
Spence-Jones said she hopes the lighting ceremony will be an annual event marking World AIDS Day.
“We are number one in the nation with AIDS cases. If that’s not a wakeup call then what is?” Spence Jones said.
* Pictured above is Earvin "Magic" Johnson
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