TOAST 2 THAT / ALL THE BUZZ ON THE HOUSE

William Brawner was only 18 months old when he received a tainted blood transfusion after a severe burn injury. The outcome: HIV. Two decades later, Brawner was known as a heartthrob at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he had unprotected sex with numerous women all the while knowing he was infected with this deadly disease.

“I suppressed my HIV status so much that I minimized it and because I couldn’t express it, it didn’t exist,” Brawner explains.

This documentary, 25 to Life, which was produced by Yvonne Shirley and directed by Mike Brown, follows Brawner as he makes the decision years down the line to track down past sexual partners with whom he had unprotected sex and tell former girlfriend, that he has AIDS. Just as we would imagine, everyone was shocked!

It was just in 2006 when Brawner decided to go public. After being featured in a story in Essence Magazine, he became notorious on Howard’s campus.

“I feel terrible and want to apologize for that,” Brawner said.

As this arises, it is very important that we protect ourselves. So far, none of the women Brawner slept with have identified themselves as HIV positive. Filmmakers hope to raise awareness and provoke discussion about stigma in the black community and beyond.

Producer Shirley said, “In our country, young black Americans are disproportionately affected by this disease and we feel the film is unique in that it really targets that audience.”

This happens everywhere, not just at Howard U. Again, please, protect yourselves. We are the future!