By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute
"An injustice any where is a threat to justice everywhere."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I've spent the entire day thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King jr. and wondering if Dr. King were alive today what would he say about the AIDS epidemic in our community. After reading his writings and listening to his speeches I realized I don't have to wonder what Dr. King would have said about AIDS because he said it.
Dr. King said, "An injustice any where is a threat to justice everywhere."
An estimated 600,000 Black people are living with HIV/AIDS in America today. AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 24 and 34. 24 Black people died from AIDS today and another 24 will die from the disease tomorrow. There's an injustice some where.
On December 26, 2007, I wrote about the death of my friend Tom Morgan. The column generated quite a response. A reader name Edith wrote, "The title of this article should be another aids carrying *** bite the dust." I've been trying to figure out how to respond to such a hateful statement. Dr. King came to my rescue this afternoon.
In his 1954 sermon "Rediscovering Lost Values" at Second Baptist Church in Detroit Michigan, Dr King said, "some things are right and some things are wrong-eternally so, absolutely so. It's wrong to hate. It always has been wrong and it always will be wrong! It's wrong in America, its wrong in Germany, its wrong in Russia, its wrong in China! It was wrong in 2000 B.C., and it's wrong in 1954 A.D.! It always has been wrong, and it always will be wrong!
Edith's comment and the comments of some others were hateful and they were wrong. Reading them made me feel ashamed-not because of my HIV status or my sexual orientation, I've felt ashamed because some of us have forgotten what Dr. King stood for, fought for and ultimately died for.
Dr. King's dream was about justice. And, justice can't mean "just us:" no matter how you define "us" because far too many of us end up left behind. In some ways AIDS is a test for Black America. If we are going to have any chance of winning the battle for racial justice, we must win the war against HIV/AIDS. An army ravaged by disease cannot fight. A dead people cannot reap the benefits of a battle won.
Dr. King admonished us about the role each of us has to play in this disease when he said, "We must learn to live together as brothers or we will die together as fools."
Phill Wilson is the founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles . He has been living with HIV for 26 years and full blown AIDS for 15 years.
Comments: (26)
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By: Sue on 1/23/2008 1:00PM
Jen is dead on. It is the same arguement that white folks use when they say "slavery happened years ago, get over it. You were never a slave nor I a slave owner." Let's START now, & work together.
That's all convenient for you but our history did not start NOW. It started from slavery and there are still ramifications of that.
I AM SORRY BUT NOW IS NOT THE BEGINNNING! In as much as you would prefer it to be.
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By: Harry Asmen on 1/23/2008 3:18PM
He should have not did that Monkey !
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By: faye on 1/23/2008 11:15PM
KING WOULD SAY BE MONOGAMOUS AND MARRY AND STOP THIS WHORING AROUND AND TESTING, AND TAKING TOXIC EXPERIMENTAL MEDS THAT ARE GOING TO KILL YOU A LOT FASTER THAN HIV.
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By: mo power to the people on 1/24/2008 11:32AM
The homosexuals don't want to except the responsibility for creating this disease with their filthy doo-doo playing life style and bringing this disease to the black community. The homos are responsible for killing our black people.
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By: NINA on 1/24/2008 10:33PM
First off, we need to do our research. HIV/AIDS is not what they've been telling us. First the gays had it, then the Puerto Ricans, then the Haitians, then heterosexuals now us. I have a problem believing anything told to me by whites. The gays refused the stigma of AIDS so they had to find someone to put it on. Black people. And not just black people our women. I refuse to believe it. And don't call me ignorant or say my point of view is dangerous. Do some research. Look Up Peter Duesburg, Christine Maggiore, The Perth Group, and Kerry Mullis. DO YOUR HOMEWORK BLACK PEOPLE!
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By: AThinker on 1/28/2008 2:18PM
It is sad that some people would choose any forum just to post their ignorance
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By: James on 1/31/2008 8:28PM
Help them
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By: mo power to the people on 2/03/2008 11:15AM
I agree with you AThinker, those homos are ignorant and retarded. I guess that come from eating and playing in doo-doo. You know that eating doo-doo rot the brain.
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By: Mildred L. Finch-Williamson on 2/08/2008 5:15AM
Martin Luther King Jr. Message to the America Public would be to think before you act. America is listen at the devil through the media show us the wild life of doing wrong. We are people with a brain and heart will we listen at our spirit. If you want lived you will think about what you are going to do. Life is precious. What are your value about living. Will you sacrifice your body for sex to end up suffered and end up in a grave and hell because of sex. I say Martin Luther King was a man on an assigned from God for this generation to warned us and help us to see the light. Many children dont know him because their parents have lost the dreams of him. Mose was on an assigned to help the isrealites out Egypt. Then they grumbled and complained. People's will be people until Jesus come they wil do evil, wrong, cheat, because their nature is to sin and do wrong. Jesus make the different in any human being.
What do want life or death. sickness, aid, or hell
Jesus said, he was going to prepared place for us.
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By: Klergy Maq on 2/08/2008 2:29PM
People "We" should come together and stop debating the differences and start celebrating the common denominator. We are all involved in this unfortunate deadly disease. We need to use the only bullet we have to fight this. "OUR VOTE" You can debate all day about where it came from or who started it.. but the bottom line is.. until "We" come together and use our political power and our economic resources to reach any common goal whether it be hiv-aids or the inner city schools, "We" will continue to live in turmoil. More people vote on the winner of american idol than they do for the Presidential election for the United States of America. People Doctor King would tell you to stop begging for what you want and start developing a plan to get what you want. I hear people begging from the government. I submit to you today that you are the government. "We the people"... Since black women are being attacked by this disease in such an alarming rate then why don't black people protect their Queens? Instead of begging the federal government to establish programs for your community why don't you do it yourself first. Before you get mad..I myself am black..so I before you pull the race card.. you should be aware of this. We should understand that as long as we continue to be consumers of trash instead of investing in ourselves.. We will never be taken seriously or respected by in other race as a whole. Your ballot is your bullet and your ecomomic resource is your shield. We spend well over 70 billion dollars a year on garbage that means absolutely nothing. God bless us all in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King!!!
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