The freedom to say what must be said among African-Americans about HIV and AIDS is a passion for C. Frank Igwe. In his view, voices online are breaking walls of polite silence and helping to save lives.
In his most recent writing, an op-ed piece in the Christian Science Monitor, Igwe, a 2008 doctoral degree recipient in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), argues that the support and critical information found in virtual communities among blacks is crucial to people's survival.
Igwe most recently completed post-doctoral work on community organizing at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He made HIV/AIDS and Internet information sharing the focus of his Penn State dissertation as well as the topic for a 2008 article, coauthored with his former adviser Lynette Kvasny, IST assistant professor, in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
Earlier, Kvasny had shared an article with Igwe that opened his eyes to the impact of HIV/AIDS on African-Americans, and how people were dying by what he termed as "slow-motion genocide." Despite that, there was a "pervasive wall of silence," particularly from the church, long a powerful source of support among blacks.
In an interview, Igwe said that the topic of HIV/AIDS carries the taint of immorality for the black church and conflicts with its values.
"In polite company, you don't talk about HIV and AIDS," he said. "It's almost like the elephant in the room nobody wants to talk about."
But those suffering from the disease found their voices online and shared with one another through virtual communities — places where, according to Igwe, "people were saying ‘enough is enough — we have to discuss this.' "
"People find a way to survive," he went on. "It's one of the great stories of the human race. People find a way to adapt and survive."
Igwe said, "For me, it was great to see how people in my community who — in a lot of ways had been left for dead—found a voice."
The topic of HIV/AIDS and virtual communities is a relatively new one for Igwe. He was undertaking graduate studies in business, to him a dead-end topic. On the verge of dropping out of school, Igwe found an important support system through the Ph.D. Project. Founded by KPMG, the program is meant to recruit and retain black, Latino and Asian students in graduate studies and, longer term, help improve diversity among teachers in college classrooms.
"I almost didn't make it," Igwe said. "I would have been just another statistic."
The impact of the Ph.D. Project on Igwe's career became part of a Christian Science Monitor article that appeared in June.
Turning from subject matter that he found dry and unfulfilling, the importance of his current work galvanizes him.
"My research today could really, literally save peoples' lives," Igwe said. "It will have a lasting legacy for me and my community."
In addition to his IST degree, Igwe holds a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering, a master of business administration from Penn State and a master's degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
In the future, he hopes to continue research on issues related to community building, HIV/AIDS and governmental policy making.