AIDS has been claiming lives for the past twenty years. Now, with the advent
of the commercialization of the epidemic, we have the luxury of doing our
part vicariously. It is much more than a disease now: it can be a T-shirt, a
march, a ribbon, or even an occupation in which one dedicates his/her life
to raising funds for research. America's strife with AIDS has been televised
much like Sally Struthers's campaign regarding world hunger. But because the media's manner of heightening awareness is often executed through television commercials, which are often avoided or ignored, it fails to reach some key, at-risk populations.

Deesha Dyer, 26-year-old AIDS activist, has decided to bring the campaign
for awareness down to a smaller and perhaps more personal scale. In October 2003, she founded the "Cover Your Lover" (CYL) initiative, a grassroots approach reaching out to Philadelphia's Hip Hop community. For Dyer, AIDS activism is no flavor-of-the-month passion. She's been an activist since she was fourteen years old. "The disease fascinates me," she says. CYL is a one-woman operation. Dyer often distributes CYL packets with condoms and leaflets at underground Hip Hop shows. "I love Hip Hop and I figured since I'm going to be at the shows anyway, I might as well give [the condoms] out there."

A journalist, Dyer has been penning the comings and goings of the
Philadelphia Hip Hop underground scene since 2002; first, as a columnist for PhillyHipHop.com and more recently moonlighting as a music critic for the City Paper. Her local celebrity status has only helped further her cause.

"Everybody knew me before, because I was writing, so it kind of worked to my advantage. They were comfortable with taking [the condoms] from me." She also accompanies fellow Hip Hop aficionados to get HIV tests and talks with her peers and teenagers about transmission of the virus.

I think a lot of people have misconceptions about sex and HIV in the Hip Hop
community," Dyer observes. Ironically, sex is often used as a platform for
its lyrics, imagery and marketing. "For all the sex and all the things that
are talked about in Hip Hop songs…it's rare that you hear someone talking
about protected sex."

She also blames some of the misconceptions about HIV transmission on the
media. Recently, J.L. King-- a once secretly gay, married man, released On the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep with Men (Broadway Books, 2004). According to the Centers for Disease Control, such black men are the leading cause for the rise in infection rates among African-American women who account for seventy-two percent of new HIV cases. Dyer insists, however, "I think it's a lot of media hype. It's true that it happens but that's not the cause of the rise of AIDS in the black
community." She adds, "I mean what if someone cheated on you with someone from the opposite sex? They still cheated on you and you can still contract something."

Dyer sees the rise in infection rates in simpler terms. "People are just
lazy. How are you so lazy that you can't wrap it up? What's the problem?
They're free." On that notion, Dyer spearheaded Cover Your Lover. At the time she had been writing for B.informed magazine. When the editors informed her that she could get condoms for free, she leaped at the opportunity. "They told me about an organization that had condoms and would probably donate them to me.

So I called right away, ordered baggies from the Internet, made leaflets and
I was ready to go." B.informed, along with PhillyHipHop.com and the Girls Action Initiative were among some of her first sponsors. She's also
received support from co-workers at her full-time job with a real estate
investment company.

In December 2004, CYL celebrated its one-year anniversary at The Five Spot with a Hip Hop fundraiser. The entertainment showcased an eclectic fusion of Philly's most celebrated talents. DJ crew, IllVibe Collective provided the beats in addition to live performances from MCs Reef the Lost Cauze and Side Effect. Proceeds from the fundraiser will contribute to year two's
initiatives.

By all indications, CYL's second year holds the promise of reaching out to
an even broader community. By spring of this year, Dyer plans to distribute
CYL packets to Philadelphia health centers. She's also working on branching
out to Connecticut and New York and implementing a $1,000 annual scholarship to college juniors and seniors whose parent or caretaker is HIV positive.

Other goals include securing non-profit status, launching a website,
partnering with a radio station and getting area colleges involved in her mission. Confidently she says, "It's going to grow."

Copyright 2004 | Contact Us | Submission Guidelines | Staff | Obtain a Copy | Home