Progress: Graphic Novel Tackles AIDS In The South

“AIDS in the End Zone” targets young black Southern men, most at risk

What can two middle-aged white women tell young black men at risk for contracting and transmitting H.I.V.? Kendra Albright and Karen Gavigan could say plenty, but they’d rather let these young men’s peers send that message. Gavigan and Albright, professors of library science at the University of South Carolina, have enlisted the help of young men in a state prison to create an AIDS awareness graphic novel. A professional illustrator drew “AIDS in the End Zone”, but the plotline and dialogue were created by incarcerated youths, ages 15 to 19. One character, "Brad Timmerman," a spoiled, rich teenager, loses his starting quarterback spot on the high school football team to a newcomer. Timmerman plots to blackmail an H.I.V. infected party girl into sleeping with the new quarterback. The story does not end happily for any one, but it shows life can go on with antiretroviral drug treatment. AIDS is a big problem in South Carolina. Columbia, the state capital, was ranked sixth in the nation in 2010 in AIDS cases per capita. That’s higher than Washington, D.C., New York City or San Francisco. Young black Southern men who have sex with men are the nation’s highest-risk group. The graphic novel, however, does not mention gay sex or prison sex. The novel has been questioned by academic conferences because of that omission. Gavigan and Alright hope to have the novel distributed to libraries around the country. (New York Times)

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