OK, people, I don’t want to be a scold but today is National HIV Testing Day. And if you think you’re not at risk, think again. Though just 13 percent of the population, African Americans represent 40 percent of all AID cases and half of those newly diagnosed.
Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who's written and performs a one-woman show to raise awareness of the ongoing AIDS crisis, said:
The impact of HIV on the African American community cannot be ignored. We have to come together as a community and talk about this disease openly and honestly. National HIV Testing Day is one way to begin that dialogue. Silence will not heal you. Silence will kill you. Get checked. Get tested. Do what you have to do to break the silence about this disease and how it is affecting us as a people and community. AIDS affects us all.
Black women are at particular risk, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center:
African American women account for nearly 60 percent of all AIDS cases in women in the U.S., with a diagnosis rate 25 times that of white women and about four times that of Hispanic women. HIV/AIDS experts in the latest NWHRC Health Report blame “centuries of unequal treatment of women” within minority communities resulting in dangerously submissive behaviors as well as sexual abuse that leads to HIV infection.
In 2002, AIDS was the number 1 cause of death for black women aged 25–34 years. Many of the sisters were infected by some lowdown, down-low brothers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
African American women are most likely to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with men. They may not be aware of their male partners’ possible risks for HIV infection, such as unprotected sex with multiple partners, bisexuality, or injection drug use. In a study of HIV-infected persons, 34% of African American men who have sex with men reported having had sex with women, even though only 6% of African American women reported having had sex with a bisexual man (emphasis added).
The Magic Johnson Foundation is offering a free screening for folks in Los Angeles. To find a testing site near you, click here.
