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On a quest for justice
By Andrew P. Peck | Managing Editor
(Staff photos/ Andrew P. Peck )
Irish rock star Bono speaks at the Heart of American tour stop at the Madame Walker Theater Center Dec. 5 about the African AIDS epidemic.
Celebrity activist group visits Indianapolis on a tour of Midwestern cities to promote African AIDS awareness.
For Bono, saving Africa from a cataclysmic AIDS epidemic is far more than a charitable endeavor. He calls his effort a quest for justice.
The Irish rocker, frontman of the group U2, spoke to an audience at the Madame Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis Dec. 5 about the need for medical and economic aid for the devastated continent. Bono was joined by celebrities and activists, including actress Ashley Judd, Scottish racing standout Dario Francitti and actor-comedian Chris Tucker on a stop for their Heart of America tour.
The two-hour presentation included a live acoustic performance by Bono and a traditional African prayer and dance production by the African children?s group called the Gateway Ambassadors.
The group began traveling by bus to Midwestern cities to promote awareness and activism for the African people who, according to the group will report 3.5 million cases of HIV and AIDS this year. The continent has 70 percent of the world?s AIDS cases. And while millions of Africans already suffer from the disease, Bono says, far too few can afford the medicine necessary to treat it.
Bono has been campaigning for Africa since 1984 when he was a member of the group Band Aid, which produced the song ?We are the World.? Since then he has met with numerous politicians and organizations as well as corporate leaders in an attempt to stop the spread of AIDS.
?I don?t want to call this charity,? Bono said. ?Don?t call it philanthropy. I hate that word. This is a quest for justice.?
Bono described a perceived injustice carried out by Western society, which he says can sit idly by and allow the 2.5 million people to die of AIDS in the next year. He said that the West does not consider Africans equal.
?If this were happening in London, Dublin or Berlin, would we let these people die?? he said. ?No way. That shows that we don?t consider Africans equal. And that has to change.?
Tucker, who has traveled to Africa four times and witnessed the decimated state of the population there, expressed his sense of responsibility to reach out.
?As an African American,? he said. ?I feel that when I go to Africa I am seeing my cousins and nieces and uncles and nephews and I can?t just sit back and let these things happen to them.?
Tucker was dramatically more subdued in addressing the audience than most fans of his work might have expected. He spoke for only a few minutes with a quiet imitation of singer Michael Jackson as his only comedic styling.
Judd urged the audience to get involved with the cause, which she termed an emergency.
?We want everyone to call their congressmen, write letters to the president,? she said. ?Call the White House. You are all so powerful.?
According to Bono, the Midwest was targeted for this tour because of his admiration of the people here.
?I admire your tenacity,? he said. ?What starts in the heart of America, ends up at the head, soon enough.?
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Copyright ? 2002 The IUPUI Sagamore - Indianapolis, IN -
On a quest for justice
By Andrew P. Peck | Managing Editor
(Staff photos/ Andrew P. Peck )
Irish rock star Bono speaks at the Heart of American tour stop at the Madame Walker Theater Center Dec. 5 about the African AIDS epidemic.
Celebrity activist group visits Indianapolis on a tour of Midwestern cities to promote African AIDS awareness.
For Bono, saving Africa from a cataclysmic AIDS epidemic is far more than a charitable endeavor. He calls his effort a quest for justice.
The Irish rocker, frontman of the group U2, spoke to an audience at the Madame Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis Dec. 5 about the need for medical and economic aid for the devastated continent. Bono was joined by celebrities and activists, including actress Ashley Judd, Scottish racing standout Dario Francitti and actor-comedian Chris Tucker on a stop for their Heart of America tour.
The two-hour presentation included a live acoustic performance by Bono and a traditional African prayer and dance production by the African children?s group called the Gateway Ambassadors.
The group began traveling by bus to Midwestern cities to promote awareness and activism for the African people who, according to the group will report 3.5 million cases of HIV and AIDS this year. The continent has 70 percent of the world?s AIDS cases. And while millions of Africans already suffer from the disease, Bono says, far too few can afford the medicine necessary to treat it.
Bono has been campaigning for Africa since 1984 when he was a member of the group Band Aid, which produced the song ?We are the World.? Since then he has met with numerous politicians and organizations as well as corporate leaders in an attempt to stop the spread of AIDS.
?I don?t want to call this charity,? Bono said. ?Don?t call it philanthropy. I hate that word. This is a quest for justice.?
Bono described a perceived injustice carried out by Western society, which he says can sit idly by and allow the 2.5 million people to die of AIDS in the next year. He said that the West does not consider Africans equal.
?If this were happening in London, Dublin or Berlin, would we let these people die?? he said. ?No way. That shows that we don?t consider Africans equal. And that has to change.?
Tucker, who has traveled to Africa four times and witnessed the decimated state of the population there, expressed his sense of responsibility to reach out.
?As an African American,? he said. ?I feel that when I go to Africa I am seeing my cousins and nieces and uncles and nephews and I can?t just sit back and let these things happen to them.?
Tucker was dramatically more subdued in addressing the audience than most fans of his work might have expected. He spoke for only a few minutes with a quiet imitation of singer Michael Jackson as his only comedic styling.
Judd urged the audience to get involved with the cause, which she termed an emergency.
?We want everyone to call their congressmen, write letters to the president,? she said. ?Call the White House. You are all so powerful.?
According to Bono, the Midwest was targeted for this tour because of his admiration of the people here.
?I admire your tenacity,? he said. ?What starts in the heart of America, ends up at the head, soon enough.?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright ? 2002 The IUPUI Sagamore - Indianapolis, IN -
