By Felicia Purcell-McDaniel,
Globe Sports Editor

The energy was undeniable last weekend in the Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Library during the Sistahs Getting Real About HIV/AIDS Symposium, presented by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Oakland Bay Area Chapter.

    Organizer Cathy Adams, one of the founding members of NCBW, explained that the forum was designed to increase awareness about the number one killer among African American women ages 25-44.
    Sandra Varner of Varner PR Agency served as the mistress of ceremonies for the forum, which covered topics ranging from stigma, discrimination and denial, teens and HIV, the black church’s response, and empowerment after diagnosis.
    Free HIV testing was provided by CAL-PEP.
    Listening to the stories of those affected by HIV/AIDS was raw and real. African American women, who looked like the picture of perfect health, told their stories of denial and being ostracized.
    “This experience has been eye-opening,” said Cynara Chatman-Dillion, who was given HIV by her husband.
    The outspoken speaker brought laughs and cries as she gave her riveting testimonial of living with HIV and her struggle after diagnosis.
   “My husband died of denial,” said Chatman-Dillion of her late husband, whom she was married to for 22 years and who died suddenly in 1993 after no known health problems.
    What was so painful for Chatman-Dillion was her husband’s refusal to admit that he had passed on the virus to her, even on his deathbed. She believes he contracted it during a brief separation.
    “I cannot emphasize the importance of taking responsibility for self,” said the evangelist, who was fired from her employer of 16 years after she disclosed her HIV status.
   “There is life after diagnosis,” she said. “Get tested.”
    “We have to take what we learned today and share this key information with our sisters and brothers,” said NCBW President Barbara Williams. “All of our lives are at stake.”
   National HIV Testing Day is June 27. There will be free testing provided at Eastmont Town Center (retail side), located at 7200 Bancroft Ave. in Oakland, from noon to 6 p.m.
    For more information, call (510) 238-3141.

Don't miss the new Crime Series >>