HIV/AIDS documentary chronicles virus in the African-American community

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A powerful and riveting new documentary about the surreptitious and ultimately deadly rise in the number of HIV/AIDS cases among Blacks is the focus of a recent documentary on public television, which is just in time for the International AIDS Conference.

The documentary, “ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America,” is an intense two-hour program that features several sobering stories of African-American men and women living with the HIV virus. Also included in the piece are interviews with former basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson and civil rights icon Julian Bond.

Among some of the most startling facts revealed in “ENDGAME” is that every 10 minutes, someone in America contracts the AIDS virus and about half of them are African-American. Nearly half of the estimated 1 million people infected with the virus and living in the United States are Black men. Moreover, the number of Black women infected with virus continues to increase.

“If Black America were a country, it would have the 16th highest infection rate in the world,” said Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles.

Wilson is profiled and featured throughout the video, in which he shares his thoughts and opinions about the long and troubled history of the virus in the African-American community. Wilson has been living with the virus for more than 20 years and blames ignorance, stigmatization, denial and homophobia as some of the key reasons for the continued, devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Black America.

“I reject the notion that Black communities are any more or less homophobic than any other communities,” Wilson said. “I don’t believe homophobia is more pervasive in Black communities. However, the consequences of homophobia are more devastating to us because we need our communities to protect us.”

The release of “ENDGAME” coincides with the kickoff of the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. The event is being held in the United States for the first time in more than 20 years and is expected to bring thousands of participants. It runs from July 22-July 27. To view a three-minute trailer of “ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America,” visit video.pbs.org/video/2242522397.