Gabriella Chikhani
Staff Writer
Associate Professor of Broadcast Journalism Valerie Cummings shared her new documentary, “Women at Risk: Black Women and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” Tuesday in the President’s Dining Room as part of the faculty lecture series.
Cummings wrote, produced and directed the 25-minute documentary that focuses on four women living with HIV.
“I wanted to find out why black women are more susceptible to HIV and I wanted to humanize the numbers,” Cummings said.
The video revealed shocking statistics like 60 percent of women with HIV are black and that only five states require HIV tests before entering or leaving prison.
“I thought it was very eye-opening because a lot of times you just get the statistics but you don’t get to hear the actual story,” senior photography major Emily Bieker said.
Cummings said she focused on finding four women who were from all ends of the spectrum who could also be relatable.
“One doesn’t think that heterosexual people in a stable relationship, like the engineer (in the film), would be having this kind of threat,” Professor of Humanities Al Clark said.
The documentary follows a professional woman who works as an engineer and was married when she found out she had HIV.
Her husband had been sexually active with many men he had met online.
She divorced her husband, was able to find love again and then soon became pregnant. She found a doctor who knew how to handle her situation and delivered an AIDS-free baby girl.
Another woman was working as a prostitute when she got AIDS and became addicted to cocaine while living on the streets of Los Angeles. She said she was on a mission to kill herself because she did not want people thinking she died of AIDS.
“Convincing people to trust and open up to me was hard to do,” Cummings said. “I had to convince them that I was legitimate and wouldn’t exploit them.”
A screening of the documentary was also held on Oct. 5 at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. It was presented by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Women in the documentary said they had low self-esteem in the past and were not careful when having sex.
“I want to empower women and show people that this disease is not only about sex but about emotional and financial issues as well,” Cummings said.
The documentary was made in memory of Jon Comines, Cummings’ brother, who lived with AIDS for 20 years.
Cummings has submitted her documentary to the Public Broadcasting Service and hopes to have a chance to show it at film festivals around the country.
Gabriella Chikhani can be reached at gabriella.chikhani@laverne.edu.
