The Ballard family attended the Black AIDS Institute’s annual #HeroesintheStruggle gala as part of Alimi’s role as an ambassador for the Greater Than AIDS campaign.
Actor and Activist Alimi Ballard was recently featured in a weekly series with The Black AIDS Institute about ambassadors for the Greater Than AIDS campaign. With a heartfelt approach, Alimi explained how his children inspired him to take part in the organization. “It was something watching my daughter being born. I thought I had a grasp on the world. I thought I knew what was most important: I got married, picked a good wife, had a good job; I was working. Everything was good. But seeing my daughter being born, my concern for the world and the people in it was born anew.”
On why he chose to be a part of Greater Than AIDS in particular, the actor said, “There is such a lack of information out there, and this is where you see the disparity in socioeconomic environments in the United States of America, where some people don’t get the information that they need: Half the new AIDS cases happen among African Americans, and when you make up 12 percent of the population, that’s a big disconnect. So it’s about getting out the information. Talk. Talk to your girlfriend. Talk to your boyfriend. Talk to your mother. Talk to everyone and share the information.”
Alimi’s urging of the public to share information is so important to him because he sees that within the black community there is a resistance to discussing the topic openly. He suggests that one reason for this is the non-factual stigma of AIDS being directly associated with homosexuality. The actor notes that because of how taboo a subject sexual orientation is among black persons, it means that facing issues of AIDS and/or sexualities puts you at odds with the community. But that the disease is a ‘gay man’s ailment’ is a myth. In fact, Alimi points out that it is “incredibly nondiscriminatory in how it’s transmitted.”
At the inquiring of interviewer, Janice Rhoshhalle Littlejohn, Alimi opened up for the first time about his experience with having someone come out to him. He explained that when an ex-girlfriend of his told him she was a lesbian, he reacted poorly. Reflecting upon the event, the actor began to tear up. “I didn’t say the right things,” he admitted, “It’s one of the things you wish you could rewind. I’m 39 with two kids, and sexual orientation for me is about as important as the length of my hair. I wish I’d had that perspective at 21, and I didn’t.” Given the opportunity to do it again he posits, “I would have told her: ‘I support your choices, and I don’t love you any less, even though we can’t date [Laughs], and I wish you the best. I wish you healthy relationships, and I’m glad you’ve come to your truth, that you know who you are.’ I just wish I could have been able to tell her that.”
One way Alimi sees the black community overcoming the impasse of non-communication about AIDS is in how parents approach ‘the talk’. Without a father in the home, he recalls his mother (an OB GYN) having difficulty with it, and showing him a book of STDs when he was quite young. Although it was a confusing and unpleasant experience for him, Alimi says “Now that I have a daughter and son, I’m going to take the boy–I’ll leave my daughter to my wife–and we’re going to sit them down. But he’s a boy; I’m a man. I think I can really talk about what he should and shouldn’t do and why”. Laughing, he added, “–and I will use that book.”
The post ALIMI BALLARD AND FAMILY SUPPORT THE GREATER THAN AIDS CAMPAIGN appeared first on Black Celebrity Kids.