A while ago when I was staffing a booth at the Black Philanthropy conference in Washington, D.C. a young woman approached the booth. "That is sooo wrong." She said. "Excuse me?" I replied. "That's not true," she said, pointing at the slogan behind me in bold red letters, AIDS is a Black Disease! "Black people are not the only ones getting AIDS. Putting things like that out there just further stigmatizes us, and that's the last thing we need.
I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Phill Wilson. I'm the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute and I've been living with HIV for 26 years. Over the next few months I am going to be sitting in for Angela Bronner (BV's original AIDS blogger) while she is out on maternity leave. I'm very excited to be joining the Black Voices community. I'm looking forward to being a part of this dialogue about AIDS in our community.
I'd like for you to think of this blog as the 'Everything you ever wanted to know about HIV/AIDS but was afraid to ask' blog. I plan to talk about my own experience and the experiences of my family and friends. We'll look at the latest information on AIDS prevention, care, treatment and research.
And of course, no conversation about AIDS would be complete without thoroughly exploring the policy and politics of the epidemic. After all, I hear there is a presidential election coming up. There are a gazillion people vying for the job. Does anyone know what their plans are to end the AIDS epidemic in our community? Not to contain it or minimize it, but to end it? I think we should find out. What do you think?
AIDS in America today is a Black disease. Of course it's not just a Black disease, but, it IS a Black disease. No matter what lens you use -- gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, level of education, region of the country where you live -- Black people bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic in America today. Nobody wants to talk about that, nobody wants to own that and that silence is killing us.
Nearly half of the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are Black. More than half of those newly infected with HIV in the United States each year are Black. AIDS is the leading cause of death among Black women between, ages 24-34. Among young people, Blacks account for over two-thirds of all new infections, and among women 83% of the new AIDS cases in the US are Black or Brown. Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies estimate nearly half of all Black gay and bisexual men in some of America's urban centers may already be infected. These rates parallel and even outstrip those found anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, South America or Eastern Europe.
There are many reasons why we are so disproportionately impacted by AIDS. But, chief among them is that we've not taken ownership of the AIDS epidemic and responsibility for ending it. Many of us continue to believe that AIDS is someone else's problem. Even as our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, get infected with HIV, develop AIDS and die.
I get the sister from the Black Philanthropy conference's concern about stigma and image. But we can't be more concerned about 'our image' than we are about our lives. Having a raging epidemic run through our community unchecked is actually the last thing we need.
Wanting something to not be so is not the same as it really not being so or doing something about it. AIDS in America today is a Black disease ... unless we do something about it.
I'm looking forward to having this conversation with you. I'm going to be here between two and five times a week. I hope you come back often and let me know what you think.
Yours in the Struggle,
Phill
Phill Wilson is the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute. The views expressed in this blog are Mr. Wilson's and not necessarily those of the Institute or any other organization that Mr. Wilson may be affiliated with.
Comments: (92)
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By: Monay Barnett on 9/20/2007 10:07AM
Hi
I would like to say thank you first, for putting it out there in such plain words. I hear it all the time we need to do something about it, but I only see things being done in other countries. So thank you, I would like to get started in helping our community but I am not sure to where to start, how can I get help.
Monay
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By: blaqgod on 9/21/2007 1:32AM
Hey Phil I understand what you are syaing. Trying to raise awareness, but you know as long as people are as promiscuous as they are, for most it goes in one ear out the next. But it has to start somewhere. I can applaud you for that. Oh, as we all know, there's no money in a cure. Keep them hooked on drugs is guaranteed profit. It's just corporate thinking
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By: Cecil Jones on 9/21/2007 8:45AM
Welcome Phil! As the Director, I believe you have a greater responsibility for looking out for the Black community than most others. You can't be biased by the fact that you have been suffering from this illness for over 26 years. You must be honest as you address this bias, but you must maintain your integrity as you lead the fight against this disease. I say this to say this, "AIDS does not discriminate!" It's not a Black Thang! Actually, the AIDS policy should be, "It's None of Your Business!" Here's why. The stigma of HIV can only cause negative things to happen in your life. Does HIV automatically enter one in the lottery? Does someone's life grow easier with HIV? Will society treat us special in a positive way? Hell no. The stigma of HIV is an individual struggle that makes life harder. If a corporation or anyone else gets their hands on this information, they can only do harm to your life. Forcing people to be tested is good for the people holding patents on the so called cures for the disease. The only person that needs to know anyone's HIV status is the person you are having sex with. HIV should be none of your business because you shouldn't be having sex with the people you work with. No corporation should accept the responsibility of protecting their workers from the dangers of casual sex. We discriminate if we force people to test or if we force people to reveal their status positive or negative. If AIDS never goes away, then we must do the best we can to cope with it. I'm sure that someone coping for 26 years can understand that. You'll never get a kiss from Hillary Clinton if you reveal your status. The disease shouldn't be used as a weapon or for personal publicity. Is announcing your status for personal publicity or sympathy? It's none of my business! Hopefully, I added something to the debate to make you focus on the future?
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By: Gerald A. Whitt on 9/21/2007 11:21PM
Welcome Mr. Wilson and thank-you for stepping-up to the plate. While I do admire your candidness about your HIV status, I totally agree with Mr. Cecil Jones when he stated it's not necessary for everyone to know
I was diagnosed November 1985. At this point in my life I don't care who knows. At first it devastated me and I "lived dead" for over five years. I eventually stop allowing Hiv+ live in my mind (rent free) and decided to jump on the white folks safe sex and education wagon. I don't particularly care for the stigma still associated with hiv because young heterosexual black (DL) men are reluctant to get tested. I don't feel anyone should be forced to get tested, but I would hope that with all the free information, educational seminars, and media awareness it would encourage high risk and promiscuous individuals to volunteerily do so. It is very sad but true, that young blacks and hispanics account for most new infections and black middle-aged women who have patiently waited for their boyfriends and husbands to get out of jail only to be given the gift of hiv. I won't even begin to think that I know what to do about this epidemic for I am so tired of taking pills to stay alive. I feel pretty much like Mr. Blaqgod#2 that there is no money in a cure. It's always this is not a cure but it will raise you CD4 count and lower your viral load, but it may destroy your liver functions, raise bilirubin levels, deplete your red blood cells, damage your pancreas, diarrhea, headache, nausea, nightmarish dreams, ashy skin, mood swings, discolored urine, lipodystrophy, dowlers hump, etc. There are so many anti-virals, non-nucleosides, protease-inhibitors, reverse transcriptors, clinical trial vaccines that it makes me wonder what would happen to all these new extend your life drugs if there were a cure. I guess until one is discovered or finally offered to the public we will just have to keep taking poison and hope that somebody else dies. Unfortunately for a disease that is not a black disease there sure are a lot of blacks dying. I am still hopeful.
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By: Andrea Johnson a/k/a Intrigue of the Black Butterflies on 9/22/2007 10:05AM
Being recently diagnosed with HIV b/c of a cheating partner, I am angry, so angry, but instead of me sitting back and doing nothing about it and soaking in my emotions, I've decided to turn a negative into a positive. I am a Youth Advocate and the very things I have been teaching my youth about concerning HIV/AIDS and other life issues are now even more highlight through me. I have self educated myself and continue to educate myself fully on HIV/AIDS and have begun working with other organziations within my community and other communities throughout this country to help educate not only the youths who are naive, but the adults who are just as naive.
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By: Isis on 9/24/2007 1:57PM
I perfectly understand where you are coming from with your views on this epidemic and i am proud you have found the will and the way to do something about it. My concern is once u get started in getting black comunities all cleaned up what and who is next. I think it is a futile mission to only focus on one particular people when there's interracial relationships as well as hardships. One major problem that we as humans face in this war against the virus is the fact that the virus dosen't acknowledge black, white, asian, hispanic, etc. it only acknowledges a human host and it affects us all. As humans the only human thing we can do is put our many differences aside and fight back together. One race One stand One result! In the battle until it's won. Isis
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By: Reena on 9/24/2007 6:10PM
I think that more education needs to be done in our schools. If you start when students are in elementary school health class then I think that it will become common knowledge to our children what HIV is and as they grow up they wont be afraid to talk about it and discuss the issues that go along with it. Reena
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By: Cheri on 9/25/2007 8:19AM
Phil,
Thank you for your candor. I too, believe AIDS has become a black disease. I think this is partially because we do not want to give up some of the behaviors that put us at risk. Too many of the young begin sexual experience early, perhaps lured in through visuals, music and literature that celebrates the passion and power of sexuality, but is not as up front about the ramifications. Young people tend to have more partners because they are still immature in their thinking, and of course this puts them more at risk.
Those of us who are older lived through a time when AIDS wasn't a consideration, but that was then and this is now. Times have changed and so must we. Surviving that time emotionally and physically should mean we are pursuing a different way of life now.
As a community, we need to offer our youth and ourselves a myriad of choices. Should we know about 'safer-sex.' I think so. But, too many times some seem to believe 'having sex' to be synonymous with being black or human for that matter. We are led to believe sex is a casual behavior and often forget it is truly best and safest when shared in the realm of a monogamous, long-term committed relationship.
Finally, outside of the possibility of contracting AIDS, it is our sexual behavior that often causes the most emotional and spiritual pain in our community. Children languish in foster care, without the love of parents, often the result of 'too-casual' sexual relationships. Many have experienced abuse by family members or friends driven by sexual desire, women have been used for their sexuality, and men have not become all they could be because they've found too much of their identity in sexual behavior.
It is a wonderful time to redirect our energy on the gifts of our intellect, to celebrate our creativity, our atheleticism, and to hone our other gifts. We need to embrace a change of heart and in spirit; we are more than our sexuality. All the 'safer-sex' in the world is not going to help our community until we realize this.
Cheri
www.cheriparisedwards.com
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By: Anthony O. Vann on 9/25/2007 8:50AM
Education is the Key!
For lowest prices Guarnateed!
www.Noirefashions.com
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By: Oliver W. Maritn III on 9/25/2007 9:06AM
Welcome and thank you for your comments.
For me HIV and AIDS is a Human Disease which is disproportionaly affecting the Black family members of the Human race.
My honest question is when will we as a Human Race decided that Enough is Enough and be about the business of stopping new infections of this Disease?
Until there is a Cure -
Oliver W. Martin III
Living with AIDS since 1985
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