Miami Herald - Saturday, January 12, 2002
Andrea Robinson, arobinson@herald.com

"I was on a track to the White House," recalled Lewis-Thornton, who was active in Democratic presidential politics. "Most of my friends in politics went to the White House with [President] Clinton."

She never made it. Shortly after donating blood, Lewis-Thornton was notified by the Red Cross that she was HIV-positive.

Now Lewis-Thornton, who has lived with full-blown AIDS for a decade, campaigns to keep people alive. She has appeared on Oprah and was profiled on Nightline. In 1994 she posed for the cover of Essence magazine.

This week she brings a no-nonsense message to Miami.

"I tell it all," she said. "There are no limitations. Whatever God has laid on my heart."

She hopes to raise awareness among black people of the importance of early testing.

"You can't get treatment if you don't get tested," Lewis-Thornton said.

Florida ranks third in the total number of AIDS cases reported since 1981, and has the highest number of reported HIV-infection cases in the country. Miami ranks sixth among major U.S. metropolitan areas in the total number of AIDS cases.

The virus has disproportionately impacted minorities. Of 774,467 AIDS cases reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between June 1981 and December 2000, blacks and Hispanics accounted for 56 percent of those cases, while making up 25 percent of the population.

"When I think about how many black and brown people who are infected I get sad," Lewis-Thornton said. "I hope to move my audience to compassion to do something about people who are HIV-infected and to challenge stereotypes."

She certainly defies some AIDS stereotypes. She's a heterosexual, upper-middle class, well-educated professional black woman. She doesn't do drugs, and she doesn't look sick.

She lectures around the country up to three times a week. Two years ago, after accepting a call to the ministry, she enrolled full time at a Chicago seminary, working on a master's degree.

"There's an African proverb that goes: `He who conceals his disease cannot expect to be cured.' That's where we're at," she said during a telephone interview from her Chicago home.

What she tells those who come to her speeches is they must be responsible for their own bodies, and learn "when to have sex, when not to have sex, and how to have sex."

Even now, she there are times when just getting through the day is an accomplishment. But, she says, in the world of advanced AIDS, she's extremely blessed.

Lewis-Thornton was invited to Miami by the Dade County Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a national organization largely for black women. The group has made HIV/AIDS outreach a target.

Lewis-Thornton is a member, and was an obvious choice, local members said.

"Rae is captivating," said Anne T. Herriott, chapter president.

"This is a huge issue. If we can plant a seed in the minds of women, and they have a spirit of discernment, they'll do it for their children and their mamas, even if they won't do it for themselves."

Rae says she's determined to make a difference.

"I have a prayer that someone will hear something I've said and use this as a catalyst to do something that will keep them safe.

"Ultimately the only person who will keep you safe is you," she said. "Can't nobody save you but you."

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