Freedom Rider: AIDS, the Black Disease
by BAR editor and senior
columnist Margaret Kimberley
"Too many black Americans
prefer denial instead of serious discussion."
World AIDS Day is celebrated every December. If it weren't
for this global commemoration, the 25 year old epidemic would hardly ever be
mentioned in the United States anymore. World AIDS Day seems to be the only
time of year when the horrific statistics on black HIV infection emerge for
public discussion.
The numbers continue to be appalling. The Centers for
Disease Control have adjusted data which indicated that approximately 40,000
new infections take place every year. The new estimate is between 58,000 and
63,000. Currently HIV infection rates are rising among
those black men who acknowledge having sex with other men. Black men comprise
44% of all male HIV infections in the United States while black women make up
64% of all female HIV infected individuals in this country.
The disproportionate numbers of black HIV sufferers
explains succinctly why the subject is treated with far less urgency than it
was 25 years ago. AIDS in America has become a black disease. Like any other
issue that effects black people more than any other group, it suddenly becomes
a non-issue, unworthy of news print or broadcast time. To make matters worse,
because the spread of HIV is associated with sexual contact and intravenous drug
use, too many black Americans prefer denial instead of serious discussion.
"Black men comprise 44% of all male HIV infections in the
United States while black women make up 64% of all female HIV infected
individuals."
The anointed leadership are no better than anyone else at
speaking frankly to save lives. The website of the National Black
Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) provides a telling example of this awful
phenomenon. The home page contains this odd disclaimer, which helps explain
why HIV rates in black Americans continue to be too high:
"This site contains HIV prevention messages that may not be
appropriate for all audiences. If you are not seeking such information or
may be offended by such materials, please exit this website."
Why is the NBLCA apologizing? One can infer that the
"offensive" information is sexual in nature, but so what, HIV is a sexually
transmitted disease. How can it be discussed without discussing sex? If the
NBLCA can't discuss sex without reservation, they ought to put themselves out
of business and make the failure complete. It is clear that gala fund raisers
featuring well connected, celebrity board members haven't made much of an
impact.
Silence = death, or so the activists have been telling us.
There is no way to discuss HIV without discussing sex and there is no way to
discuss any issues effecting black people without talking about unemployment,
incarceration, and the destruction of the public education system.
"It is ridiculous to think that churches can save
humanity from an epidemic of sexually transmitted disease."
Instead of talking about the severe dislocations that create
the conditions for a worsening epidemic, useless non-solutions are endlessly
promoted. The most popular of these is the worn out plea, "The churches should
take the lead." They certainly can't take the lead in a public health crisis.
Churches save souls. That is what they are supposed to do. It is ridiculous to
think that this institution can save humanity from an epidemic of sexually
transmitted disease. While many churches have provided a wide variety of social
and health services for HIV patients, they cannot be expected to talk frankly
about sex, the only way that reductions in infections can take place. They are
also not institutions that have effectively spoken out on the many issues that
conspired to create this epidemic in the first place.
While leaders scratch their heads and wonder why our
community has borne the brunt of the AIDS scourge, it is time to say that we
know precisely why the suffering has been so acute. If half of all prison
inmates are black, is it any wonder that men who have been incarcerated have
had sex with other men? If religious attitudes about sex are allowed to direct
prevention and treatment options, will any sexually transmitted disease
disappear? If millions of Americans lack health insurance, how can they receive
treatments known to extend lives?
In the early days of the epidemic, there was much talk of
AIDS "breaking out" from the groups deemed to be at high risk. When the feared
upsurge for straight white people didn't materialize, neither did meaningful
action against a preventable disease. "AIDS = Black" would make a good logo for
the next Worldwide AIDS Day. After all, you won't hear much about AIDS until
the following December. Where this disease is concerned, strategy has to be
memorable for 364 days, the more provocative the words, the better off we will
be.
Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley' maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com. More of her
work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive
page.
Melanie Dominguez is lead organizer for the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice.
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