( ENSPIRE She Did That ) Following this Panel, Tamar Braxton Announced Her Partnership with Gilead Sciences
ENSPIRE Contributor: Jack Rich
Few things are as important as health, and the “Safe & Sexy” panel at Essence Festival explored this idea. The panelists were musical artists Tamar Braxton and Raheem DeVaugh, as well as Dr. Contessa Metcalfe. They discussed sexual and breast health, and focused specifically on Black women, for whom the problems are often amplified. In terms of HIV, for example, Black women make up about 50% of new diagnoses among women, despite only making up about 13% of the female population. In terms of breast cancer, Black women have a 40% higher mortality rate and are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive subtypes. Trina Scott, a representative from the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, moderated the panel.
They each talked about their own experiences in these subjects and the power that comes from discussing them. Metcalfe talked about seeing her mother get diagnosed with breast cancer when she was young, and how she uses that knowledge to protect herself from it. She specifically spoke on how she learned her family history and used that to get mammograms earlier than most women, so that she could feel more confident in her health
DeVaughn and Braxton, on the other hand, discussed HIV prevention. They advocated for taking PrEP and shared their own experiences using it. Though Gilead Sciences produces a PrEP medicine, the panel did not advocate specifically for that medicine.
DeVaughn specifically talked about his partnership with Gilead, which is now in its second year, acclaiming that “being part of this campaign with Gilead, it allows [us] to create that movement that’s been missing from the culture.” Following the panel, Tamar Braxton announced her own partnership with Gilead to “help more Black women see HIV prevention as a powerful tool,” whether that be through PrEP or testing. As she said in the panel, she thinks that HIV prevention is “a conversation that we need to normalize,” and she seems to hope to achieve that through her partnership.
At a time when HIV rates are so high amongst Black women, yet the conversations seem so stilted, this sort of advocacy is important in raising awareness and in making the conversations unnecessary.
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