Emmy-winning actress of stage and screen, Sheryl Lee Ralph has long stood up to HIV/AIDS.
The star of ABC's hit sitcom "Abbott Elementary" spoke exclusively with ABC24 Memphis at the U.S. Conference on AIDS to discuss the ongoing health crisis of HIV/AIDS for Black Communities.
Tackling the issue is especially critical in Shelby County, Tennessee, where infections of HIV are only second in the U.S.
Ralph found herself speaking out for victims of AIDS as she was gaining success in the Tony Award-nominated original Broadway cast of "Dream Girls" in 1983, around the same time the U.S. AIDS epidemic began.
"Of all the wonderful things that we did, nobody every talks about the fact we lost one-third of our original company to AIDS," said Ralph.
More than forty years latter, for Shelby County, Tennessee, World AIDS Day 2024 didn't arrive with the best outlook. Data for Black women revealed negative impacts of HIV — the virus that causes AIDS.
The death rate from HIV/AIDS related illnesses in Shelby County climbed from 18.1 percent of the population in 2016 to more than 25 percent in 2020.
Numbers like those are of major concern for Ralph as an advocate fighting the disease.
"The way these infections of Black women in the South continue rise frightens me," said Ralph. "It was just a horrible, homophobic time and the ignorance that just surrounded the disease — the fear around it, the stigma around it."
Diane Duke is the Executive Director of Memphis-based non-profit "Friends for All."
The non-profit primary work is to stop HIV/AIDS in Shelby County by providing testing, support programs and prevention resources.
Duke and her team at Friends for All have a difficult task ahead after the Conservative-led Tennessee Generally Assembly refused more than $8 million in federal funding for vital HIV resources in May 2023.
As infections rise in Shelby County, Duke grows uneasy.
"So the rates just keep getting worse and worse. We've been going between 6,5 and 3. Looks like were going to end up second in the nation for HIV transmissions this year," said Duke.
In Shelby County, infections among Black women rose from more than 15-percent in 2017 to nearly 19 percent, according to a report from the Memphis-Shelby County Health Department.
For women of other races, the numbers in Shelby County don't even register.
"Because now, when this disease is being bore on the back, the burden is carried by Black women in the South. Black women don't get the care they deserve. They don't have the access to proper healthcare."
Across Tennessee, 16 hospitals have closed, with 13 of those in rural areas since 2010.
That's the second highest closure rate in the United States.
Duke and Ralph agree, HIV isn't only of concern for gay or communities of color, but is a sign of an overall sick population.
Ralph's advocacy and compassion hasn't always been met with approval.
"This woman from this very big church took the time to write me a letter to tell me that God would find no favor in me because of the way I care about those people," said Ralph.
Despite brutal criticism for standing up to AIDS, Ralph carries on.
This past November, Ralph delivered the 33rd addition of her Diva Foundation's, "Divas Simply Singing," the long running concert raising thousands of dollars for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
The star-studded Hollywood event featuring the talents of Diane Reeves, Anthony Hamilton, Saycon Sengbloh and Amber Riley, joined by advocates Sharon Stone, Niecy Nash, Tina Knowles and Memphis' own Brandee Evans of television's P-Valley fame.
Ralph's book, "Diva 2.0" has been praised for lifting readers above the stigmas surrounding the disease. So much so, that Duke and her team at Friends for All designed a program around it for women impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Abbott Elementary, the ABC Sitcom that earned Ralph and Emmy, bringing inspiration all it's own.
"It has been just the most wonderful thing. Teachers just want to let you know how it feels to be seen and understood," said Ralph.
No matter your challenge, Ralph's got a message for you.
"Realize that no matter what is happening, the only person that can hold you back in life is you."