At Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. South Central Regional Conference in Dallas, Award-Winning Filmmaker to Premiere Groundbreaking Documentary to Benefit AARDA
Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Courtney G. Smith, has teamed up with the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc. (AARDA) to raise awareness of autoimmune disease among African American women in 2014.
Smith will screen her groundbreaking film, Beauty Does Lie: The Untold Stories of Autoimmune Diseases, before members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) at their 82nd annual South Central Regional Meeting in Dallas on Thursday, March 13. AKA expects more than 4,000 members to attend the conference which runs March 13-15 at the Anatole Hilton.
Following the screening, Smith and Virginia Ladd, AARDA’s Executive Director, will participate in a questionand- answer sessions with AKA members.
Beauty Does Lie: The Untold Stories of Autoimmune Diseases traces the lives of seven African American women living with various forms of autoimmune diseases including lupus, multiple sclerosis, Sjogren’s syndrome, pernicious anemia and myasthenia gravis.
The women chronicle the emotional and physical difficulties of living with chronic, potentially debilitating diseases while, at the same time, outwardly appearing to be healthy and well. Yet, in spite of the daily battles with their autoimmune diseases, these women are able to triumph and live fulfilling lives.
“The reissuing of this film in digital format and our new partnership with Courtney Smith comes at such an important time,” said Virginia T. Ladd, President, AARDA. “We know that certain ADs, such as lupus, scleroderma and sarcoidosis are more prevalent among African American women and two recent epidemiological studies show the incidence rate of lupus, in particular, is far greater among American American women and impacts them at a much earlier age than previously thought.”
The two studies from National Lupus Registries in Georgia and Michigan, conducted with a grant from and under the direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are from the largest and most far-reaching epidemiology study ever conducted on lupus. They found that African American women had very high rates of lupus, with an incidence rate in Georgia nearly three times higher than that for white women, with significantly high rates in the 30-39 age group.
In addition to the patient stories, Beauty Does Lie features interviews and commentary by leading Chicagoarea medical experts, including rheumatologist Dr. Adrienne Burford Foggs of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL and neurologist Dr. Tonya Fuller of Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, IL.
Smith, herself an autoimmune disease patient – she has myasthenia gravis – will donate a portion of all DVD sales to AARDA in 2014. AARDA will host screenings of Beauty Does Lie, followed by Q-and-A sessions with Smith and AARDA reps throughout 2014.
To order a copy of Beauty Does Lie, please visit www.courtneygsmith.com.
