UToledo to Host Film Screening, Panel Discussion for World AIDS Day

The University of Toledo will mark World AIDS Day on Monday, Dec. 2, with a documentary film screening and panel discussion focused on how HIV/AIDS continues to impact marginalized communities in northwest Ohio.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins with a presentation of the 2016 film "Wilhemina's War," that tells the story of Wilhemina Dixon who lives in South Carolina and cares for her HIV-positive daughter and granddaughter.

Doors open for the event at 5:30 p.m., with the film screening beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre. The panel discussion will begin immediately following the film.

Free parking is available in Area 12, beginning at 5 p.m.

In addition to showing one family's struggle to survive, the film also highlights the ongoing public health challenge HIV presents in the south and among Black communities. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2022 shows nearly half of all newly diagnosed HIV cases come from the American south, and 37% of new diagnoses are made in Black Americans, despite making up only about 12% of the total U.S. population.

In all, the CDC estimates there were about 32,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. last year, and that 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with the disease.

"Wilhemina's War" was directed by June Cross, an Emmy-winning filmmaker whose work often focuses on the intersection of race, politics and public health. Cross, who currently teaches at the Columbia Journalism School, will join the post-film discussion via video conference.

Other featured panelists include Dr. Joan Duggan, a UToledo Health infectious disease specialist and medical director of the UToledo Health Care Clinic, Crystal Harris Darnell, director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, and Holly Hey, a professor of film and video production who is currently working on a documentary film series that highlights the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in northwest Ohio. Doni Miller, chief executive officer of the Neighborhood Health Association, will serve as the moderator.

The event is generously supported by the Department of Theatre and Film, the UToledo Health Care Clinic, the Ann Wayson Locher Memorial Fund for HIV Care, UToledo Health, the Office of Inclusion and Opportunity on Health Science Campus, the Disability Studies Program, the Women and Gender Studies Department and UToledo Libraries.

Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day is meant to inspire people worldwide to join in the fight against HIV, show support for those living with HIV and commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.

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