Description: Meg Vaillancourt reports that a disproportionate number of African Americans have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Vaillancourt reports that higher rates of transmission in the African American community are due to behavioral factors. Vaillancourt analyzes the differences in AIDS transmission between the white community and the African American community. Footage of Denise Cartier-Bennia giving a talk on educating people about AIDS in the African American community. Vaillancourt quotes statistics concerning HIV/AIDS infection rates. Report is accompanied by footage of African American residents of Roxbury and footage from interviews with people on the street.
1:00:07: Visual: A reporter on conducts interviews with African American men and women. An African American man says that he is "scared to death." An African American woman says that she doesn't know if "it is stronger on the white end or if it's stronger on the black end." Another African American man at Downtown Crossing says that no African American stars have died of AIDS; that he fears the development of an"unwarranted stigma" on the African American community due to AIDS. Shots of African Americans walking on a commercial street. Meg Vaillancourt reports that a disproportionate number of African Americans have been diagnosed with AIDS in the US. V: A chart list statistics on screen. The statistics read that 25% of AIDS victims are African American. Vaillancourt reports that African Americans represent 12% of the population. Shot of an African American woman with her back to the camera. Statistics read that African American women are 13 times more likely to get AIDS than white women; that Hispanic women are 11 times more likely to get AIDS than white women. Shots of an African American infant being examined by a white female doctor. Statistics read that 82% of infants with AIDS are African American; that 91% of infants with AIDS are non-white. Footage of Denise Cartier-Bennia (professor) saying that AIDS is affecting whole families in the African American community. Shot of a group of African Americans waiting for public transportation. Vaillancourt reports that the mode of transmission for AIDS is different in African American and white communities. V: Statistics read that homosexual/bisexual AIDS patients are 73%white, 16% African American and 11% Hispanic. Statistics read that heterosexual AIDS patients are 50% African American, 25% Hispanic and 25% white. Footage of Cartier-Bennia speaking. Shots of a group of African American teenagers crossing an urban street; of a drug user preparing a dose of heroin. Vaillancourt reports that Cartier-Bennia has studied the factors contributing to the high rate of AIDS in the African American community. V: Statistics read that African American women are 5 times more likely to get AIDS from contact with a drug user than from contact with a bisexual man. Shot of a group of African Americans boarding an MBTA bus. Vaillancourt reports that the immigration of infected immigrants from Haiti and Africa may be escalating the problem. V: Shots of military recruits laying down barbed wire in a field. Statistics read that 0.9 out of 1000 white military recruits test positive for the AIDS antibody; that 3.9 out of 1000 African American military recruits test positive for the AIDS antibody. Footage of Cartier-Bennia talking about the appearance of the AIDS antibody in military recruits. Cartier-Bennia says that one out of every 250 recruits was infected; that 10% to 30% of these recruits will eventually develop AIDS. Cartier-Bennia says that the African American community is in a "precarious position." Vaillancourt reports from a street corner. Groups of African Americans wait for public transportation across the street. Vaillancourt notes that AIDS is not an African American disease; that behavior creates the risk of transmission, not race. V: Footage of Cartier-Bennia saying that risky behavior leads to aids; that knowledge may be the most effective weapon against AIDS; that African American and Hispanic politicians have been silent on the subject of AIDS and the minority community. Shot of a group of African Americans boarding an MBTA bus. Footage of Cartier-Benia talking about the unwillingness of African American churches to discuss AIDS. Shot of an African American man crossing a street. Footage of Cartier-Bennia saying that AIDS is another problem which needs to be tackled by minority communities if they want to survive into the year 2000. Shots of African American children; of African Americans on the street; of African Americans waiting for public transportation.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 04/17/1987
Description: Mayor Ray Flynn holds a press conference in Roxbury to unveil plans for a new housing and commercial development to be built on a vacant lot in Douglass Square. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) cleared the land in the 1960s and never rebuilt on the lot. The owners and developers of the new project are African American. Flynn and City Councilor Bruce Bolling talk about the new development. Flynn says that all neighborhoods and all residents must share in the growth of the city. Bolling says that the proposal for the creation of Mandela, Massachusetts is a no longer an issue. Bolling and other Mandela opponents believe that the new development signifies a renewed commitment to the Roxbury neighborhood by the city of Boston.
1:00:10: Visual: Footage of Ray Flynn (Mayor of Boston) at an outdoor gathering in Roxbury. Flynn stands under a tent, addressing a crowd. Flynn talks about the vote against the proposal for the creation of Mandela, Massachusetts. Flynn says that the vote shows that the racial polarization of the city is in the past. Shot of the gathering from the back of the tent; of an architectural model. David Boeri reports that Flynn is advocating affordable housing and economic opportunity in every neighborhood. Boeri notes that Flynn unveiled a plan for a project in Douglass Square; that the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) cleared a two-acre plot of land in Douglass Square in the 1960s; that the lot has been abandoned since then. V: Shot of a mural on the wall of a building in Douglass Square in Roxbury; of buildings in Douglass Square; of a vacant lot in Douglass Square; of architectural plans and an architectural model. Boeri reports that a housing and commercial complex is slated to be built on the vacant lot; that one-quarter of the units will be set aside for low-income housing. V: Footage of Bruce Bolling (Boston City Council) saying that the project addresses the need for economic re-investment in Roxbury. Boeri reports that the developers and owners of the project will be African American; that Bolling noted that Roxbury is becoming a full and equal partner in the city of Boston. V: Shots of African American crowd members; of an African American man standing beside an architectural drawing of the project. Footage of Bolling saying that the incorporation of minority neighborhoods into a new city is a dead issue. Boeri reports that Flynn had a unity breakfast with Roxbury leaders this morning; that Flynn pledged to make the city of opportunity for all. V: Shots of the crowd at the gathering. Footage of Flynn saying that all residents need to share in the city's growth and prosperity; that development of the downtown must be accompanied by development of the neighborhoods. Boeri stands in the vacant lot in Douglass Square. Boeri says that the lot has represented an empty promise by the city of Boston to the people of Roxbury. Boeri says that Bolling and other leaders fought the idea of secession from the city. Boeri adds that these leaders say that the plans for the new project are a signal that "their time has come."
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/05/1986