In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7th, we want to acknowledge the life and work of Hydeia Broadbent. We remember her as the child who appeared on Oprah, but she spent her life educating us and fighting for those with HIV/AIDS until she passed away a year ago this month.
Hydeia Broadbent dedicated her life to educating and fostering dialogue about the disease. Many of us can recall her as a child sitting with Oprah in 1996, detailing how she was born with HIV and describing the symptoms she had when she was diagnosed with AIDS at age five.
NBC reports that she was abandoned at birth at the University of Southern Nevada Hospital in Las Vegas. But Loren and Patricia Broadbent adopted her. As a child born with the disease, her willingness to share her story throughout her life educated so many about the disease. The Broadbents were the first Black family to publicly discuss their journey. She told Oprah that the most challenging part of living with the disease was watching people she loved die. In addition to Oprah, she appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, and
Hydeia’s website states that her mission was “simply to inform & create dialogue around HIV/AIDS in our homes, communities, educational institutions & churches. My life’s mission is met in two folds: first, to use my life as a prevention tool for those who are HIV negative to make informed decisions to stay HIV negative, and also for those living with HIV/AIDS to find hope and inspiration, not to allow HIV or AIDS to hold them back from living their best life.”
Hydeia was an advocate before medications were available. As she grew into adulthood, she urged us to take the disease and prevention seriously. She said, “I see so many people living recklessly. At what point do we get it? She said in an interview. “We have the tools here in the United States to have no more HIV infections, but yet we have new HIV infections every day.”
She shared publicly that living with the disease could be tough at times. Revealing that the disease impacted her both physically and mentally, she discussed going to therapy. Yet she continued to advocate for those who had HIV/AIDS and educate those who were negative to remain so.
Throughout her life, Hydeai Broadbent made an impact on this earth. By sharing her story, she has saved many lives.
