Blacks At Heart Of HIV, AIDS Epidemic
By Kristen Johnson, kajohnson@post-journal.comIt was during a meeting that Annette Hood, the pastor at Blackwell Chapel AME Zion Church, heard news that shocked her.
''I heard of a woman who, at the age of 72, found out that she had been infected with HIV by her 68-year-old boyfriend,'' Hood said. ''Because of her age, she thought she was safe. Because she had not been sexually active in more than a decade, she thought she was safe. She was wrong.''
That woman isn't the only person who was wrong about HIV and AIDS - according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV and AIDS have reached epidemic levels for blacks. At all stages, from infection with HIV to death of AIDS, blacks are disproportionately affected as compared with members of other races and ethnicities.
In 2005, the last year for which such statistics are available from the CDC, blacks accounted for almost half of the more than 37,300 new HIV or AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 33 states with long-term, confidential reporting.
Even more shocking - of the estimated 18,450 people under the age of 25 whose diagnosis of HIV or AIDS was made between 2000 and 2004, 61 percent were black.
Statistics like those tell Hood that education and outreach efforts regarding HIV and AIDS have languished.
''I certainly don't think we're talking about it as much as we need to be,'' she said. ''You hear about it in February because it's Black History Month and because of National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. But other than that, it's not talked about. I think we need to have a constant blitz of information directed toward everyone - not just blacks, not just young people. Everybody.''
Hood feels that not only have education and outreach efforts languished, they're actually going backwards and the nation is losing ground against the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
''I do feel like we've gone backwards over the years,'' Hood said. ''The communication about HIV and AIDS isn't what it needs to be. We've gotten to the point where parents say, 'Don't tell my kid what to do' - but at the same time, the parent isn't taking up the instruction. Take the responsibility and do it. We talk so much about our youth and about protecting them. It's about time we stepped up and did it.''
Blacks are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS in part because of cultural norms, according to Lori Matson of AIDS Community Services.
''It's largely a culture where the belief is that you take care of your own,'' Matson said. ''It's the same with Hispanics. If you're taking care of your own, you're not reaching out as much. And that's a barrier, especially when you're talking about something like HIV and AIDS.''
But unlike Hood, Matson points to a different reason why diagnoses of HIV and AIDS amongst blacks are spiking.
''I don't necessarily think they're getting infected more than anyone else, I think it's that they're finally coming forward to be tested,'' she said. ''That's what my gut tells me. For a long time, I think it was a cultural belief that you didn't want to be tested or know the truth, for reasons that are as much socioeconomic as they are cultural.''
There's always a need for education and outreach, Matson said. But instead of seeing a backward trend, she sees new opportunities.
''I think the schools, in particular, have made a major push to educate young people about HIV and AIDS,'' she said. ''And I think we're gaining ground. The key is to keep it going.''
