Sheryl Lee Ralph has done it all. The Tony Award-winning actress was an original Broadway Dreamgirl; she's acted opposite stars like Denzel Washington and Robert De Niro on the big screen, and has graced the small screen with roles on Moesha and ER.
But the role Ralph is most proud of is that of HIV/AIDS activist. In addition to running her own not-for-profit ( the Diva Foundation ) , Ralph is the spokeswoman for REYATAZ's "Fight HIV Your Way" photo-essay contest. We spoke with Ralph about the project, which will culminate in New York City on World AIDS Day ( Dec. 1 ) with an original Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance inspired by the winning photos.
Windy City Times: Can you tell us why you decided to join this campaign?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I got started with "HIV Your Way" three years ago when I realized [ and also felt ] there's room for the arts in the fight against HIV and AIDS. I loved it when I saw the photos and how people were expressing themselves … by simply just picking up their cameras and taking shots of themselves, of the things that they saw, revealing how they felt about themselves in connection with the disease.
I believe the arts have a way of touching people's hearts and moving them to a different position on subjects, especially when it comes to a subject as deep and emotional as HIV and AIDS.
WCT: You've been a pretty vocal activist since the very beginning of the epidemic.
SLR: Well, it all started for me as an original company member on Dreamgirls on Broadway. I say that I was there for that ugly time. Dreamgirls debuted 30 years ago [ December 20, 1981 in New York ] . HIV and AIDS made its debut in America about 30 years ago. When we opened in December, I never knew by that time we'd be missing cast members due to this mysterious disease that nobody wanted to talk about.
I said I had to do something that would forever raise up the memory of the many wonderful people that I worked with during that time, and that's really how I found my voice on the disease.
WCT: What was the atmosphere like on Broadway when AIDS first struck?
SLR: Oh my God! There was a time when people got sick, and they died. You could dance with somebody in the show one night, and they wouldn't be there the next day. Sometimes people developed those strange purple marks on their body, and they died. There was no dying process like the one we've become used to.
There was just a deadly silence, and it was awful. Nobody wanted to talk about it. When I first started talking about it, people would tell me to shut up—that it wasn't my fight. It had nothing to do with me. Why would I risk my career talking about this? Why do I spend so much time with those people? I could never figure out who those people were because in my mind we were all those people. I felt we were all in this together.
WCT: People told you not to speak up?
SLR: Oh my God, they were awful to me! It was awful! People don't remember those times. People went out of their way to be unkind to you. I remember a very important man who eventually died because of the disease said to me, 'You're a star. Stars don't get involved in real issues like this. Just shut up.'
WCT: Has it gotten better over time?
SLR: On the Internet, there's a nice photo of me and RuPaul walking side-by-side on stage. [ Just last year ] a church told me that they could not assist me in my HIV and AIDS awareness due to 'certain people.' That 'certain person' was RuPaul. Stigma is alive. Homophobia is alive. It's still happening.
WCT: That must be so hard to deal with. What keeps you going?
SLR: I've seen the positive teenager. I've seen the child walk out … shocked that they're positive. As a mother of two teenagers, I say: Not on my watch. When I look at that child, I realize that child could've just as easily been [ mine ] … . When you look at some of these photos and essays at "Fight HIV Your Way," and at some of the things that the kids say, how can you even think of giving up the fight? You can't.
WCT: Can you tell us about your new book? [ Redefining Diva is set for release Spring 2012. ]
SLR: It's a self-help inspirational book for a new generation of young women to let them know: You've got to know yourself. You cannot let other people define who you are. You've got to be wonderful to yourself … . That takes guts; that takes life; that takes living; that takes understanding. It's not easy either.
WCT: I have to say, I love listening to you talk. You're so passionate and direct, almost like you're preaching.
SLR: [ laughs ] I hear that often, and I'm never aware of it … . I think I know who I am, and I don't want to beat around the bush—especially on the topic of HIV and AIDS. It's just too important. There's no more time for people to wrap it all up in a pretty bow. We've got to just tell folks how it is, so that they can get this message and hear it quicker. We've got to break the stigma, and we've got to see some new stories. Now is the time, and we've got to be the people we've been waiting for.
See, I did it again! [ laughs ]
To learn more about "Fight HIV Your Way," visit: www.fighthivyourway.com .
To learn more about the Diva Foundation, visit: www.thedivafoundation.org .
To talk to Ralph directly, hit her up on Twitter @thesherylralph.
