Cheers and applause sounded from the Chattanooga State Community College auditorium as 2012 “The Voice” finalist Jamar Rogers sang “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” at a National Black AIDS Awareness Day gathering.
“My number one message is this: Your past does not dictate your future,” Rogers said after singing to dozens of students who attended the event.
The 32-year-old international performer told how he was born to a teenage mother and never met his father. He was molested, ran away from home, became a meth addict and a prostitute before realizing that he had contracted HIV.
But life didn’t end. He learned to love and accept himself, and despite his past his life got better.
Rogers also spoke at the Howard School on Tuesday and will speak today at Brainerd High.
Students record as Jamar Rogers sings Wednesday to a crowd at Chattanooga State Community College.His appearance in Chattanooga is in observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, founded in 1999 as a countrywide response to an increasing HIV and AIDS problem in black communities. The hope is that blacks will mark Feb. 7 of every year as their annual or bi-annual day to get tested for HIV.
Blacks represent about 20 percent of the population in Hamilton County but make up 44 percent of new HIV diagnoses and 47 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS here as of 2013, according to a Tennessee Department of Health news release. In Tennessee there were a total of 820 new cases of HIV and 16,063 people living with HIV by the end of 2013.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS
Feb. 21. Chattanooga Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency executive director John Bridger and former Ochs Center president Ken Chilton will present information for a “Comprehensive Plan for Impacted Communities” from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the NAACP office.Feb. 28. The NAACP will host a black history month parade at 3 p.m. The parade starts at the new NAACP office at 756 M.L. King Blvd. and will end at Seventh and Broad streets. Organizations or churches interested in being in the parade may email the NAACP at naacpchattanooga@epbfi.com.
Rogers never thought he had HIV. But he got really sick while living in Atlanta. He had fevers and cold sweats. He went to a hospital emergency room and tried to tell a nurse his symptoms. But he vomited when he opened his mouth to speak.
That’s when doctors asked if he had been tested for HIV. He felt embarrassed about throwing up and sorry for himself after hearing his potential diagnosis. But when doctors confirmed it, he felt peace.
He called his mom and asked to return home and she welcomed him. He told his story on “The Voice.”
Rogers didn’t win “The Voice” but he landed a record deal, got invited to speak and perform in South Africa and went on to speak about AIDS with Hillary Clinton. He’s going to the United Kingdom this year.
He encouraged members of the audience at Chattanooga State to love and accept themselves instead of seeking approval from others. He ended his talk and performance by hugging and posing for pictures with each student who came to the stage.
Alexus Careathers, 19, said she was so moved by Rogers’ message that she wanted to cry.
“I’ve never heard anybody tell his story,” she said. “It shows you can be who you want to be.”
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman atyputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.