Anderson@Large

State of Black America (Again)

I attended Circle of Sisters 2009 on Saturday. In addition to workshops led by Steve Harvey and the fabulously ageless Ann Tripp, the program included a hearty perennial, the “State of Black America.”

The panelists included the Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, TV and radio personality Jeff Johnson, and C. Virginia Fields, president and CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

Tripp asked the panelists:

We’ve got a black president. Is that it?

Sharpton observed:

We’re in the best of times and the worst of times. We are in positions we were never in before. But on the ground, life has not fundamentally changed.

Sharpton pointed to the black unemployment rate, education achievement gap and prison industrial complex. He noted that “putting black faces in high places” is not enough:

Some of us are still celebrating the inaugural balls while others are cutting deals in boardrooms … Those that lost their jobs are still unemployed … We have to hold those in position accountable.

Citing the experience of former New York City mayor David Dinkins, Sharpton said:

We’ve seen this movie before. We should make sure that it doesn’t end with us on the ticket line while others enjoy the popcorn.

Fields, a former president of the Borough of Manhattan, agreed the black community is in crisis:

We are in a pitiable state in just about any indicator you think about … We have an opportunity … Let’s step into the space of transformation and make some real changes.

Johnson cautioned against “deifying” President Obama. He sparked a spirited exchange about whether Obama deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

While Sharpton agreed that Obama should not be deified and must be held accountable, he declared:

If de Klerk can get an award for shaking Nelson Mandela’s hand, then Barack Obama can get an award for shaking up America and ending the era of Bush.

Given the emotional state of black America, Sharpton’s comment brought the house down.

Mississippi Blues

Concerned citizens are giving members of Congress the blues over healthcare reform at town hall meetings.

The conversation will be civil at the CBC Institute’s workshop on healthcare reform, moderated by CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee, and Reps. Donna Christensen and Donald Payne.

The panelists will include Dr. Willarda Edwards, president of the National Medical Association, and Dr. Cora Christian, a member of the AARP board of directors.

I’m a policy wonk so spending Saturday morning in a meeting room at a casino is my idea of a good time.

But the good times will roll Saturday night at the 7th Annual Memphis Tri-State Blues Festival. The performers will include Shirley Brown, Floyd Taylor, son of the late, great Johnnie Taylor,  Ms. Jody Floyd and the inimitable Bobby Rush.

National Call to Action on HIV/AIDS

I am in San Francisco, which a generation ago was ground zero for HIV/AIDS. Back then, gay white men were the face of AIDS. Now, it’s people of color.

Tonight in New York City, the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) will hold its annual benefit gala. NBLCA will bring together religious, healthcare, political and community leaders to raise awareness of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic within African-American communities.

Some grim statistics:

• Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to become newly infected with HIV.
• AIDS remains the leading cause of death among black women between 25-34 years and the second leading cause of death in black men between 35-44 years.
• Blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but account for nearly half the people living with HIV.
• More African Americans are living with HIV than seven of the 15 countries targeted for assistance under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief initiated by former President George W. Bush.
• Three percent of DC residents have HIV or AIDS.
• More than one million people are living with HIV or AIDS, 25 percent of whom do not know it, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO of NBLCA, said:

HIV/AIDS is a worsening public health crisis among African Americans and other people of color. Although the federal government is giving this epidemic more attention than it has received in years, it is critical that this event be more successful than ever.

Fields added:

We are issuing a national call to action in response to the alarming data that has come out about HIV/AIDS in the United States.

For more info, visit the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

9½ Minutes

No, that’s not the name of a movie. Instead, it’s a grim statistic: Every 9½ minutes someone in the U.S. is infected with the HIV virus.

The Obama administration has launched a new HIV and STD public awareness campaign, Act Against AIDS.

So, get the facts and be a part of the solution.

Get tested.

Breaking the Silence

The National Action Network kicks off its 11th annual convention today with a health panel, “The Cost and Casualties of Silence: HIV/AIDS in Black America."

In the nation's capitol, the costs are staggering. At least three percent of DC residents have HIV or AIDS, including nearly seven percent of black men.

Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, said:

The AIDS epidemic in Washington DC is an unmitigated disaster and a national disgrace.

In the capital of the world’s richest and most powerful country, HIV prevalence is higher than in Port-au-Prince, the capital of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. HIV prevalence among Black men in Washington is 40% higher than in sub-Saharan Africa generally. Infection levels among all Blacks in the District of Columbia are higher than in 28 African countries.

Shockingly, these statistics likely understate the extent of HIV infection in Washington D.C., as they include only people who have tested HIV-positive.

Know your status. To find an HIV testing site near you, text your zip code to KNOWIT (566948) or go here.

To register for the NAN conference, send an email here.

World AIDS Day 2008: Keep the Promise

Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, an “annual wake-up call to keep the promise to stop AIDS.”

At the beginning of the AIDS crisis, the disease was called the “gay plague.” In the 1980s, the victims were predominantly white gay men who died within months of their HIV-positive diagnosis.

As AIDS enters its third decade, an HIV-positive diagnosis is no longer an automatic death sentence. The antiretroviral therapy has kept some HIV-infected people alive for nearly 30 years.

People like Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, who was one of the speakers at a community forum on the eve of World AIDS Day at the historic Riverside Church.

Wilson said the face of HIV/AIDS has changed:

The AIDS epidemic today is a black disease...Blacks bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The AIDS crisis by the numbers:

• African Americans make up 13 percent of the nation’s population but accounted for nearly half (49 percent) of the people living with AIDS.
• AIDS is the leading cause of death among black women aged 25-34.
• Black women represent 67 percent of new AIDS cases among women.
  
• AIDS is the second leading cause of death among black men between the ages of 35 and 44.
• Between 20,000 and 30,000 blacks become newly infected with HIV every year.

If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the number of people living with HIV, and be eligible to participate in President Bush’s signature global initiative, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

The rate of HIV infections among African Americans is higher than Botswana, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda and Vietnam.

Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, chairman of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, reported on the National Conclave on HIV/AIDS Policy for Black Clergy, which he co-chaired with Bishop T.D. Jakes.

Rev. Butts outlined the black church’s response to the AIDS epidemic. He noted that in the 111th Congress, Rep. Charles B. Rangel will introduce the National HIV/AIDS Elimination Act, which would formally declare HIV/AIDS in the African American community a public health emergency.

For more info, go here.

To find an HIV testing location near you, text your zip code to KNOWIT (566948).

Health Care for All

I want to give a shout-out to the medical team at Florida Hospital Orlando, particularly Dr. Sergio Larach, Sonny and Anne, for the excellent care they are providing my mentor, Milton Bins.

The last few days have brought the debate over health care close to home. Fortunately, Milton is covered by Medicare and a supplemental policy so he can focus on his recovery. But for many Americans, a major illness would ruin their health, their credit rating, and land them in bankruptcy court.

During the second presidential debate, Tom Brokaw asked, “Is health care in America a privilege, a right, or a responsibility?”

Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s responses were fundamentally different. While McCain said access to affordable health care is a “responsibility,” Obama said it is a “right”:

Well, I think it should be a right for every American. In a country as wealthy as ours, for us to have people who are going bankrupt because they can't pay their medical bills….

The estimated 47 million Americans without health care no doubt agree with Obama.

African Americans are disproportionately without health coverage. Over 25 percent of black men under age 65 are uninsured, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. By contrast, 16 percent of their white counterparts lack health coverage.

The study concludes:

African American men have the highest death rate of all racial/ethnic groups, male or female. The poorer health and health care indices of African American men have consequences for African American families and the nation’s economy. High rates of incarceration, and unemployment, and low levels of college graduation rates negatively affect their quality of life as well as access to health coverage and quality care. Efforts to improve the health of African American men need to consider improving health coverage and care, as well as social factors that affect health.

Simply stated, when something is wrong with black men, something is wrong with black women and black children.