Actors have the unique ability to use their celebrity status as a platform to raise awareness about causes they advocate .and people stop to listen. In preparation for the 10th anniversary of National HIV Testing Day, many notable Hollywood actors such as: Vanessa Williams (Soul Food), Jimmy Jean-Louis (Heroes), and Hill Harper (CSI New York) along with a handful of athletes collaborated with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the Black Aids Institute and The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) by publicly taking an HIV test in front of the cameras on June 25, 2007 at the Guild's Headquarters. This event allowed the celebrities an opportunity to voice their opinions and beliefs on ending the AIDS epidemic in Black America and mitigating the negative stigma which is associated with being screened for HIV. In addition, this event promoted awareness of the 1 in a Millionù campaign, a crusade for one million Black Americans to get tested by World AIDS Day, December 1, 2008. Black communities are often struck harshly by this unrelenting disease and this is a subject, which nobody likes to discuss. Aids is the leading cause of death for Black women between the ages of 24 " 35 and Black Americans represent more than 54 percent of the new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. These are staggering statistics and many philanthropic organizations are managing to educate the public by bringing awareness to the forefront through innovative techniques, such as this particular event, getting tested publicly and finding out your results first hand, candidly, for the whole world to see. Showing individuals that although you may be afraid of needles, it is more important to know the end result instead of living in fear or worse, not knowing and spreading the disease unknowingly. By taking a stand and using their bold, god-given voices, celebrities helped a handful of organizations including Black AIDS Institute, The Balm in Gilead, and the National Black Leadership Commission, whose main goals consist of (but are not limited to) decreasing the HIV rates in Black America and increasing the number of Black Americans in proper early- treatment regimes by fifty percent. Throughout the early 80's and 90's, the bulk of those identified with HIV were gay men, therefore, society generalized that the disease was more of a gay plagueù. Unfortunately, this caused an enormous amount of ambiguity which, in turn resulted in a reverse effect. Individuals who abstained from an alternative lifestyleù assumed that it was not of extreme importance to be screened. Now, in 2007, it is quite apparent that it has spread through African American and Latino communities and that the virus doesn't care who it infects. Now more than ever it is our responsibility to ourselves, our families and most importantly our lovers, to know our status. Knowledge is power and with that power, responsibility. I've lost one too many friends to this horrid disease. The loss of a loved one alone brings a sense of responsibility to the world and a reverence toward humanity. It's true; I wish I could bring my friends back. I wish that I would have offered to go with them to get tested and to let them know that it was okay. Now, I can only advocate responsibility and know in my heart, if the roles were reversed they would do the same for me. This article is dedicated to the memory of my beautiful, friend, Tracy Alexander who passed away June 25, 2007 from HIV. I never knew that he may have just needed a friend to go with him to get tested; I took for granted that he just did it. I was wrong. Yet, I will from this moment on continue to be the biggest advocate of HIV testing and speak of it openly without embarrassment. It takes less than an hour to get tested and I know that Tracy would agree that your life is worth more than the wait. The negative association with getting tested needs to diminish and I'm here to tell you that I'll be the first in line.

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