Brief NBJC Interview on GBM News, Reaction to The View

One on One with Sharon Lettman, Executive Director of The National Black Justice Coalition

As some of you may already be aware, on June 22, 2010, comments were made on ABC’s “The View” that can be construed as unfair to some, and downright inflammatory to others. The comments stated that the cause for the high rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV in African American women were due to African American gay and bisexual men.

I spoke with Sharon Lettman, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition to get her reaction to the comments made by D.L.Hughley and Sherri Sheppard. I posed four questions of importance regarding this issue and she answered them candidly.

GBM: What was your initial reaction to the comments made on “The View”?
SL: I was taken aback like everyone else that heard them. My initial reaction was “how can someone who sits in the public eye make comments that could possibly create a negative impact on a group of people that are already stigmatized in society? I believe that everyone is entitled to make a mistake, however, if you don’t correct the mistake, you run the risk of further alienating a portion of society that are already presented with challenges just in being.