Fighting Against the Black AIDS Epidemic

In the United States, Black people represent close to half (46 percent), an estimated 510,000, of the cases of HIV/AIDS, a number grossly disproportionate to the 14 percent of the U.S. population that Black people make up.

Fighting Against the Black AIDS Epidemic
by Mychal Denzel Smith | TheLoop21

Over the summer I attended “Basseyworld LIVE!”, a series of events in various major cities that featured a night of poetry and a panel discussion covering topics as diverse as politics, social media, and pop-culture, hosted by writer/performer Bassey Ikpi.*

A major highlight of the discussion during the Washington, D.C. event was when Helena Andrews, author of Bitch is the New Black, said “if one of us has AIDS, we all have AIDS.” Deliberately shocking and poignant, her statement underscores the seriousness of the disease, our connectivity as human beings, and the ease with which HIV/AIDS spreads throughout our communities.

Globally, there are around 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS, with over 25 million deaths being attributed to the disease since 1981. While the highest concentration is in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are over a million people living with the disease in North America.

In the United States, Black people represent close to half (46 percent), an estimated 510,000, of the cases of HIV/AIDS, a number grossly disproportionate to the 14 percent of the U.S. population that Black people make up. These statistics, which come from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), show that of the estimated 25,000 new infections that occur yearly among Black people, over a third (38 percent) are among the youth, aged 13-29.

Add to that the fact the CDC reports “AIDS is the third leading causes of death among Black women aged 25-34 and 35-44 and among Black men aged 35-44” it’s safe to say that HIV/AIDS continues to be an epidemic in the Black community that demands and deserves our attention and concentrated efforts to stop the spread of the disease and the havoc it has wrecked in its near 30 year history.

We may have come a long way from the fear that permeated the discussions surrounding HIV/AIDS during the 1980s, but we’ve also dropped the ball when it comes to education, outreach, and prevention. While we continue to search for a cure, it is imperative that we do all in our power to educate and protect people from further exposure, especially those of us who are most vulnerable.

Instead of placing the blame on scapegoats (such as Black men on the “down-low”), we have to continue pushing for more access to preventative measures such as condoms and free HIV/AIDS testing in communities hardest hit, as well as stress the importance of safe sexual habits and behaviors and regular testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Read the Full Essay @ theLoop21