The Preacher, the President-Elect and AIDS

By Steve Villano

I was for the election of Barack Obama as President almost two years before his inauguration as President of the United States, in a little less than two weeks. No political figure had inspired me as much about the future, since several giants of my past: JFK, RFK, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mario M. Cuomo. I saw in Obama the same level of hope, promise, intelligence, evidence-based decision-making, compassion and possibility for the future.

I attended fund-raisers for Obama, contributed money on-line, did telephone canvassing for his election, and contacting friends in key states around the nation urging them to work hard for his election. I was elated over his sweeping victory, as a victory of common sense, compassion, and intelligent problem-solving, over years of hatred, division, and stupidly ignoring reality. As someone who has worked hard to fight HIV/AIDS, and the stigma surrounding the disease, over the past several decades, I was optimistic that, in Obama, we would have a leader who understood the magnitude of the crisis, particularly in communities of color.

The vote in favor of Proposition 8 in California—banning same sex marriages which the state’s highest court said were legal—was particularly strong in Black and Latino communities across California. Friends who logged many hours going door-to-door both for Obama and to defeat Proposition 8, talked of feeling torn apart—the more votes they pulled out for Obama in communities of color, the more votes they were delivering to the opponents of equal marriage rights for all. Stigma against people with AIDS in communities of color—which we know prevents infected individuals from getting treatment and care-- was only trumped by discrimination against gays & lesbians.

Only Obama had the stature and the credibility, we reasoned, to go back into those communities of color—which gave him overwhelming support—and teach them that stigma, as Nelson Mandela said, kills people. And we were confident he would.

Then, along came Rick Warren, whose long record of vile, gay-bashing statements wasn’t bad enough to disqualify him for a speaking role at the most inclusive inauguration in generations. In defending the choice of Warren to invoke a divine purpose for the historic event, Obama’s minions pointed to Warren’s work on AIDS in Africa—although none of them actually knew what that work was. It’s too bad they didn’t do their homework, the way Max Blumenthal did in January 7, 2009’s Daily Beast.

If they did, they would have discovered that Warren’s work in Africa on AIDS, included supporting a weird, witch-hunting Charismatic pastor who burned condoms in the streets of Kampala, Uganda, and campaigned to have gays imprisoned on the basis of sexual orientation.

That kind of work on AIDS is nothing to be pointed to with pride by Obama’s top aides on “Meet the Press,” or anywhere else. It’s a disgrace.

Let Rick Warren attend the inauguration, along with clergy from every faith. But, let him listen quietly while Bishop Desmond Tutu delivers an invocation message of inclusion and compassion in which all the world can believe.

Happy and Healthy!

Change We Can Believe In

By Steve Villano

This past year—from one World AIDS Day to the next (December 1, 2007, to December 1, 2008)—has been a time of transformative change, in the life of the country, Cable Positive’s, and my own.

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is an historic moment, heralding the promise of great change, challenge and hope for the future. It is a moment, like a handful of others in our lives, by which we measure where we were when it happened, and where we want to be to help it unfold. I felt the same way when JFK was elected President in 1960, and at 11 years old, began my journey toward a lifetime of service. I feel that same sense of youthful optimism today, only 49 years later.

It’s been a year packed with powerful, positive changes for the Cable industry and for Cable Positive. Gone are the days of the industry’s year long calendar of benefit dinners--replaced by greater focus and collaboration on the community-based and national awareness programs constituting Cable Positive’s true public service and value. Fortuitously, for the fight against HIV/AIDS, these changes coincided with the CDC’s conclusion that the AIDS epidemic in the US is far worse than previously believed—and that the life-saving role for education as the only vaccine against the disease has dramatically increased the importance of Cable Positive’s work—and the need for growing cable industry & public support.

And, from last December to this one, death--and the potential of a sweet, new birth-- have served as momentous mile-markers in the past 525,600 minutes of my own life. From my mother’s death one year ago, to the joyous news that my son will soon become a father, this has been a year unlike any other for me. Attention must be paid to such transformative events. Action must be taken.

Accordingly, after a nearly-nine year privilege of serving Cable Positive and working with an all-star array of cable industry leaders driven by a desire to do good, I’ve decided to seek to explore some mountains beyond those I’ve already climbed. “Change we can believe in,” is as true at Cable Positive, as it is for the rest of the country, and over the next several months I hope to take an active role in that positive transition of leadership between now and July 1, 2009.

As a passionate change advocate, I believe that the healthiest organizations—and individuals—are those that don’t fear change, but embrace it, as a way to achieve new and even better results. I am confident that the team we’ve built over the years at Cable Positive, headed by our talented Chief Operating Officer Thomas Henning and an excellent Executive Committee and Board of Directors, guided by Showtime’s gifted EVP, Ray Gutierrez, will continue to take the organization to bold, new heights, expand its programs and break exciting ground with all media platforms and audiences. In fact, with our Youth AIDS Media Institute funded by Motorola, and our public service programs of community-building launched by NBC-Universal in New Orleans in May, we are already well on our way.

This has not been an easy decision. I love my work with Cable Positive and what we’ve accomplished over the past nine years, on a tiny budget, and with a small, but mighty team. I enjoy making a difference in people’s lives, and building something—a program, a documentary, an organization—from the roughest of concepts into a powerful tool to make our world a little better place.

I don’t know what awaits, but this much I do know: I’m thankful to be alive today, to be a participant in a time of great change, and to energetically embrace tomorrow.

Thanksgiving, 2008: A lifetime of people & events deserving of thanks

By Steve Villano

This has been an amazingly historic year in the nation’s history, in Cable Positive’s life, and in my own. I cannot get through a single day without ticking off a “top ten” list of people and events for which I am grateful.

Inevitably, any list of “thanks” is an incomplete one, in a life as full and fulfilling as mine, where I am touched by the grace of good people every day. Here’s my, admittedly, abbreviated attempt:

• I’m thankful for Barack Obama, his tenacity, his even temperament, and for bringing this country back to its common senses, and injecting us all with a great sense of promise and possibility, especially during tough times;
• I’m thankful for the inspiring work done in the area of HIV/AIDS by Dr. Helene Gayle, President/CEO of CARES, whom Cable Positive honored in March, along with MTVN’s Bill Roedy and Insight’s Michael Willner, whose lives have also been bright lights to us;
• I’m thankful to Showtime’s Matt Blank, who I have on record saying that a Cable Positive POP Award is more important to him than an Emmy—although he’s done pretty well in that department as well;
• I’m thankful to Ann Carlsen, whose generosity jump-started Cable Positive’s “One-for-One” program, bringing much needed anti-retroviral drug assistance to children and families throughout sub-Saharan Africa;
• I’m thankful to John Evans his untiring efforts to find a cure for this disease, and his incredible support for me, for Cable Positive and his critically important work on the Boards of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Institute for Human Virology, and the NCTA.
• I’m thankful for Cox’s leader-by-example Pat Esser for always showing up—despite his incredibly busy schedule-- at every Cable Positive Atlanta Chapter event, a practice he began well before he became President & CEO;
• I’m thankful for Dan Moloney’s passion for education, and how he translated that into a Motorola Foundation grant—the largest single grant in Cable Positive history—which created our Youth AIDS Media Institute, to teach teens how to educate their peers about HIV/AIDS;
• I’m thankful for the cable industry giants serving on Cable Positive’s Board of Directors, from past chairs Lela Cocoros, Dennis Mangers, Rob Stoddard, David Wicks and Bonnie Hathaway, to present chair Ray Gutierrez, and Cable Positive founder, Jeffrey Bernstein, and to Stuart Benson, Cable Positive’s treasurer, who has become a treasured friend;
• I’m thankful for Moe Berger, Joel Berger’s father, who passed away this year, and supported the work of Cable Positive after his death, as he had done for 13 years following the death of his son to AIDS-related illnesses;
• I’m thankful to NBC-U’s Bridget Baker and her incredible colleagues who did an extreme make-over of two HIV/AIDS facilities in New Orleans during the NCTA show;
• I’m thankful to Rainbow Media’s Josh Sapan, for donating his “discarded artwork” to Cable Positive to sell on E-bay, and making a gift of 35 pieces of artwork to the residents of Lazarus House in New Orleans, changing some lives in the process;
• I’m thankful to Rainbow’s Ellen Kroner, who, without a moment’s hesitation, made a gift of $500 to New Orleans’ Lazarus House, to purchase a camera for a resident who loved amateur photography, and lost everything he owned during Hurricane Katrina. Josh Sapan’s artwork and Ellen’s gift, ended the HIV positive’s man’s 3-year long depression, renewing his zest for life;
• I’m thankful for having a terrific team of people to work with at Cable Positive, day-by-day, committed to the cause of HIV/AIDS education and awareness, and of improving the lives of people ;
• I’m thankful for having seen my mother live to 92, battling Polio and paralysis throughout her lifetime, deeply understanding bias and stigma, and remaining relentlessly optimistic and hopeful in the face of great obstacles;
• And, I’m thankful for the gift of being unafraid to love profoundly, and for the people I love most—Carol, my partner in life for 37 years through all sorts of storms and sunshine, and my son Matt & his wife Nicole, who already have brought us much joy, and will bring us still more in the Spring of 2009, when we become grandparents, for the first time.

I am, above all, thankful to be alive, and participating in a time of great change, challenge, promise and hope for the future.

Another Wake Up Call

By Steve Villano

World AIDS Day is less than two weeks away – December 1, 2008 – I think it’s a great time to review where we stand in the fight against the disease and remind everyone that we can do something about these terrible truths:

- There’s still no cure, in fact, two important vaccine trials were abandoned in 2008.

- The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were wrong about how many new HIV/AIDS infections are happening each year – by 40%!

- African Americans account for 55% of deaths due to AIDS.

- Hispanics account for 14% of the U.S. population yet account for over 20% of new HIV/AIDS cases.

- Women account for nearly 1/3 of all new HIV infections – most of those infected are through heterosexual contact.

- Teen girls, ages 13-19 represented 43% of aids cases among young people.

- World-wide young people represent HALF of all new HIV infections.

It’s also a fact that HIV/AIDS is 100% preventable; it’s just a matter of getting the word out! So for this World AIDS Day, if you’re too shy to talk to your friends about HIV/AIDS, tell them to turn on the TV where, thanks to the cable industry, they’ll see our PSAs and learn more on our Video-on-Demand (VOD) service, or tell them to visit our newly redesigned web site, cablepositive.org, where they can connect with other people in the fight to end AIDS.

We have work to do and we know it, do you?

Positive Change, Flowing Both Ways

By Thomas Henning

The essence of change this year--both for Cable Positive and for the American political process--has come from the ground up; from community activists to national leaders. The common link in this chain of change across the country and throughout our industry has been forged by whole new applications of technology, designed to make entire governments, as well as non-profit organizations, much more accessible to individual stakeholders.

Barck Obama's incredibly successful campaign for President pioneered use of the internet, not only for political fundraising--where small denominations of contributions amassed to a total of $750 million--but also established the use of websites and social networking sites as superb tools of community organization. It's a lesson that non-profits need to learn well, especially during tight economic times, when usual methods of raising funds for life-saving programs become more & more difficult.

Cable Positive has worked hard to keep pace with sweeping changes in technology, to be more response to the people who support us throughout the Cable industry, and to better serve people with HIV/AIDS in local communities across the country. Last week, at the CTAM Summit held in Boston, Cable Positive unveiled its new, more interactive website as part of a powerful new campaign focusing on Cable Positive as a "public service of the Cable industry," aimed at improving the lives of people in local communities wherever a cable system is located.

Last year, at the NCTA Convention in New Orleans, scores of volunteers from NBC-Universal, Time Warner Cable, SES Americom and other companies, donated huge chunks of their time to help improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS at AIDS residences in the Lower Ninth Ward. This year, MTV Networks provided a team of their talented staff to renovate and redesign part of Iris House in Harlem, NYC. And, as we prepare for the NCTA Convention slated for Washington, DC, in April, 2009, cable companies and networks are already lining up to do volunteer work in community-based AIDS organization's throughout the Nation's Capitol, in collaboration with Cable Positive.

Change has been reshaping the Cable industry over the past several years, and the internet has been growing into as powerful a communications tool as television. Combining the enormous resources of both and using them to deliver--and receive--urgent messages of HIV/AIDS awareness and education to millions of individuals in hundreds of communities, is the kind of positive change we need.

Dear President-Elect Obama,

Congratulations on leading us to put our “hands on the arc of history and bend it, once more, toward the hope of a better day.” Your election as President of the United States on November 4, 2008, was a magical moment many of us only dreamed was possible, as we continue to work hard on matters of great urgency, like conquering HIV/AIDS.

We believe deeply in the “new spirit of patriotism” you have summoned; of “service & responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and word harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.” That’s the spirit that drives us each day in the work we do.

We put our faith in your word, given 6 weeks ago to the United States Conference on AIDS, when you expressed your “commitment to developing a National AIDS Strategy to decrease new HIV infections and improve health outcomes for Americans living with HIV/AIDS.” We applauded then, as we do now, your call for a comprehensive approach, for “aggressive federal actions, including investments that are matched with State & Local initiatives. . .preventing the spread of HIV, getting people into treatment, and expanding access to testing and comprehensive education programs.”

Those goals are the essence of Cable Positive’s mission, as is the equally important one of overcoming the stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS—a stigma, which you have said, “is too often tied to homophobia.” You boldly stood that stigma on its head, when you and Michelle took HIV tests on a trip to Kenya.

Now, we need you to break still more barriers. We need you to act as the passionate Editor-in-Chief of Poz Magazine Regan Hofman has urged you to act—to move swiftly to develop and implement a National AIDS Strategy, as HIV/AIDS rages out of control in many communities of color, which, if located in communities in Africa instead of America, would be eligible for PEPFAR funding to fight the disease.

Establishing America’s first-ever National AIDS Strategy need not have any fiscal implication in the initial phase of creating it, and making it as powerful a creed as “Yes, we can.” We want you to apply the same focus, intelligence and organizational follow-through on defeating HIV/AIDS, as you did on winning the White House, and earning, as you eloquently expressed, “the chance for us to make that change.”

We know that eradicating AIDS will not happen overnight. Many of us have been foot soldiers in this war against this disease for more than two decades. We agreed with you, when you summoned the inspiration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stating that “we may not get there in one year, or even one term.” But we, too, are hopeful that we will get there. Working with you, we are ready for the enormity of the task that lies ahead.

Sincerely,

Steve Villano

President/CEO, Cable Positive