Erin Barnett ’09 will be a featured guest in the May 20 broadcast of “The State of Things” on WUNC 91.5 FM, an affiliate of National Public Radio, which is talking with Barnett about a documentary on a Namibian HIV/AIDS activist that she produced as an undergraduate.
Barnett, an assistant at Jigsaw Productions in New York City, will speak live from a studio in the Big Apple with “State of Things” host Frank Stasio. Barnett’s interview is scheduled to air from 12:40-1 p.m.
Barnett’s film, “My Name is Anita,” introduces viewers to Anita Isaacs, a former Periclean-in-Residence at Elon and an HIV/AIDS activist in Namibia.
Isaacs is regional director of the Network of Namibia Women Living With HIV/AIDS, or NENOWLA. NENOWLA assists Namibian women who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, and it promotes education and prevention through a variety of programs.
The film starts with Isaac’s involvement in the Namibian War for Independence and follows her path toward taking the national stage in AIDS activism. Throughout the documentary, Isaacs talks about her personal battle with gender inequality. She speaks out about her verbally abusive husband and her regrettable persistent denial of the virus due to well-ingrained social stigma of being HIV positive.