Living Out Loud with Darian

On Wednesday Oprah Winfrey will sit down with Magic Johnson and 6 women who are living with HIV/AIDS to discuss the reality of living with the disease and where we've been and where we're headed as far as prevention, education, and hopefully a cure.

HIV/AIDS activist Marvelyn Brown will also be a guest. Many of you might recognize Marvelyn from countless speaking engagements across the country or from appearances on The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model.

I'm hoping that the show will have an honest dialogue about what it's like to be infected and affected by this disease.

With bogus ad campaigns like the one in LA by The LA Gay and Lesbian Center, it's imperative that everyone knows that HIV/AIDS is not a gay disease, but a disease that can invade the lives of everyone regardless of sex, race, class, or sexual orientation.

I'm a little bit concerned that the group of people who are being infected in alarming numbers will not be represented on the show, black gay men. But then the more I think about it... it might be a good thing, we all remember what happend when JL King and Jonathan Plummer was on Oprah's show. Oprah's amazing at what she does but understanding black gay men hasn't proved to be one of her strengths.

I'm sure there will be lots to talk about after the show airs. To be continued...