Alfre Woodard: Lifting the Burden and Carrying on the Work
Alfre Woodard
The Black AIDS Institute's Heroes in the Struggle Gala and Award Celebration honors, in a star-studded event and photographic tribute, individuals who, over the past year, have made a heroic contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Below, one in a series profiling the 2017 honorees.
To say that Alfre Woodard is a prolific actress is an understatement. With a career spanning over 70 films and 25 television series—and an astounding 32 award wins and 69 award nominations, including an Academy Award nomination, 17 Emmy nominations, four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards—Woodard stands as a giant among her peers for her perseverance, range and drive. With series such as Memphis Beat and True Blood and films such as Crooklyn, Miss Evers' Boys and 12 Years a Slave, Woodard has entertained entire generations across myriad genres, from sci-fi to period pieces, from television series to audiobooks, and everything in between.
In addition to a history-making acting career, Woodard is a longtime HIV/AIDS activist. In 1989 she co-founded Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), a non-profit founded with the goal of reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and furthering human rights and democracy in South Africa.
An ANSA to AIDS in South Africa
For decades, Artists for a New South Africa has reached millions of people across the U.S. and Africa with vital information and education about HIV/AIDS and democratic rights, shipped more than 70 tons of medical supplies and books to communities in need, and raised over $9 million for various African non-profits.
Beginning in 2005, ANSA's It Takes a Village program provided comprehensive care and services to thousands of children orphaned by AIDS as well as additional vulnerable children in South Africa. Currently, ANSA is scaling up its efforts to aid South Africa's 3.7 million orphans.
"You learn as a young Black person that you're part of a continuum," Woodard told WebMD when asked about her concern for children. "People who came before me did things that made it possible for me to have the life I have now. So you do the right thing and you might not see it at the end of the day, but you're paying it forward."
Artists for a New South Africa is not the only way Woodard has aided the effort of HIV/AIDS advocacy. In 2009 Woodard and an impressive cast of other A-list celebrities used their voices in a different way to create the Grammy-nominated Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, an audiobook of stories selected by the historical great himself. Proceeds from the sale of the folktale audiobook go to help HIV/AIDS orphans in South Africa. "The sale of just one book can support a child for an entire month," said Woodard about the project, which she not only lent her voice to but also directed.
"I was privileged to be with Nelson Mandela," Woodard reflected, "where he challenged us, saying in a 2008 speech, 'Our work is far from complete. Where there is poverty and sickness, including AIDS, where human beings are oppressed, there is more work to be done. It is in your hands now.' With this audiobook, ANSA pays tribute to our friend and hero, Nelson Mandela."
Continuing the Fight
In addition to the above efforts, Woodard also supports a host of other HIV/AIDS foundations and charities, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, One Foundation and the Treatment Action Campaign. During the Obama administration, Woodard had the honor of serving on the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. She is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences International Outreach Committee. "If you're not on the giving end, then you're going to be on the receiving end," said Woodard. "And I'm grateful to be on the giving end."
Woodard's passion for those affected by AIDS is palpable and engaging. As she continues to advocate for those dealing with HIV/AIDS, she continues to call others into the fight. "It will take the hands of all mankind to lift that burden and carry on the work," she said. "We hope you will join us and support this effort."
The Heroes in the Struggle Gala and Award Celebration will take place Sept. 16, 2017, in the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles. To purchase tickets, become a sponsor, join the host committee or place an advertisement in the program book, click here or contact Wendell Miller at
Whitney Alese is a writer and blogger whose work has been featured in BuzzFeed and other publications.