Obama Makes History
The Black AIDS Institute joins the community in celebrating the historic milestone of Sen. Barack Obama’s presumptive primary win, making him the first Black presidential nominee of a major political party. After months of often-difficult campaigning, the electoral process has worked and the Democratic Party has made its choice.
The long electoral season is not over, however.
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NAACP ED Statement
The Black AIDS Institute joins the rest of the community in welcoming Benjamin Jealous as the NAACP's next executive director. We salute the NAACP for having the vision to embrace new leadership from the ranks of Black America's next generation of pioneers.
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Honoring Same-Gender Families Saves Lives
The Black AIDS Institute applauds the California Supreme Court's decision to strike down the state's law limiting marriage to opposite sex couples. The ruling is a blow against homophobia and sexual stigmatization and, therefore, a blow against HIV/AIDS.
It is by now clear that shame and stigma surrounding sexuality-whether gay, straight or bisexual-is deadly. When our public policies reinforce a social order in which some relationships are valued more than others, we push people to the margins.
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Shocking Study on Black Teen STD Rates Raises Troubling HIV Questions as Well
Federal health researchers said this week that a
whopping half of African American teenage girls have
a sexually transmitted infection. That fact is troubling
enough, but it's all the more so when you consider its
implications for the Black AIDS epidemic.
The study is the latest to show higher prevalence of STDs and STIs among Black youth. Syphilis rates, for instance, are holding steady or declining among other youth groups, but are increasing among African American teens.
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HIV Transmission
Adhering to HAART Does Not Remove Risk of Passing on Disease
An article recently published by Switzerland’s Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS states that HIV-positive individuals on effective antiretroviral therapy are not at risk for transmitting HIV to their sexual partners under certain circumstances. The Commission acknowledges that there are no scientific data that the risk of transmission in these circumstances is zero. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underscores its recommendation that people living with HIV who are sexually active use co
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Heroes In The Struggle
Curry Continues the Fight Against HIV/AIDS With the Written Word
George Curry professes not to know why he’s being honored as one of the Heroes of the Struggle.
“I don’t why I’m being honored. But I’m looking at it as an advance award so I plan on doing enough work to earn it,” Curry joked during a recent interview.
Curry, a veteran journalist, is the former editor in chief for the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA).
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Heroes In The Struggle
Jesse Milan Takes the AIDS Battle to the Professional Frontline
Jesse Milan was just a typical man, a corporate attorney, living his life, then suddenly, he found himself in the middle of the battle against HIV/AIDS, a very personal battle. During the 1980’s he cared for and eventually lost his partner to the disease. Then, he himself was diagnosed with HIV.
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Heroes In The Struggle
Julian Bond Speaks Out on Behalf of People Living with HIV/AIDS
NAACP Chairman Julian Bond doesn’t shy from talking about sex in public. He thinks more African Americans should do the same.
Bond said he believes that the black community’s reluctance to candidly discuss sex and, more specifically, homosexuality, is the greatest barrier to the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
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NNPA Commentary Series
Nobody Should Have to Die Like This
Until the government is willing to spend as much money on AIDS and education as it does on searching for Osama bin Laden, then I'm going to keep preaching what I'm
preaching
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Syringe Exchange Programs Expanding, Receiving More Funding
Syringe Exchange Programs across the country are receiving more funds and expanding the number of services offered to intravenous drug users, according to a summary released by the CDC
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2007 National HIV Prevention Conference
How the New HIV U.S. Estimates Will Be Decided
ATLANTA – The number of people in the United States who are living with HIV is higher than the estimated 40,000 annual new infections, but exactly how high is unclear.
The numbers are up for discussion following the CDC’s decision to use new methodology to calculate the extent of the U.S. HIV epidemic.
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NNPA Commentary Series
HIV/AIDS Numbers Worse Than Previously Thought
A new report on the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic will soon be released by the Department of Health and Human Services and is expected to convey that the new HIV/AIDS case estimates are 50 percent higher than previously believed by federal health officials. This new information demands greater national attention and action
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2008 Presidential Campaign
Make Them Hear You
One of my favorite Broadway musicals is “Ragtime,” the story of a Black man who, after being humiliated by a racist fireman, decides to fight for justice. Right before his death, at the end of the show, Coalhouse Walker admonishes his followers to “make them hear you.” “If you make them hear you,” he says, “than we will be victorious.”
Can someone explain to me how the political pundits get off writing off the presidential campaigns before most black folks have a chance to make our voices heard?
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Election 2008
Still Cool -- Round Two
Saturday’s Los Angeles Times ran a Joel Pett comic strip commenting on Sen. Barack Obama’s victory in the Iowa Democratic caucuses. A Black man and women are sitting at a table. The man is reading a newspaper, and He says to the woman, “A white state voted for a black man…cool!” The woman replies, “You mean 3% of a 98% white state voted for a 50% Black Man?” The woman leaves the room. The man considers what she said, and then says to himself, “Still Cool!”
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Statement: ll Dec. 24, 2007
Pioneering Journalist Dies After 20-Year Battle with HIV
The Black AIDS Institute mourns the death of one of Black America's shining stars this holiday. Thomas Morgan, former New York Times editor and trailblazing ex-president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), died Dec. 24 of an AIDS-related heart attack, according to NABJ and friends. He was 52.
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NNPA Commentary Series
HIV/AIDS in Films Without Being 'Too Preachy'?
It’s an obvious thing that HIV is an important subject when you’re talking about the black gay community. And I knew it was something I wanted to address in some way.
I saw a lack of representation of gay people of color in entertainment media, and being a black gay man, that’s an area that interested me. So I just stopped waiting around for Hollywood to decide to really portray our community and, as a producer and film maker, I tried to make a series on my own terms that explores who we are as black gay
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Part of the Solution
Two Men Run Nearly a Marathon A Day
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Dec. 17, 2007) -- Mike Sacco and Lejon Boudreaux finished running a minimum of a marathon a day for 14 days, withstanding bone-shattering pain, reckless drivers and tons of highway debris to get a message across.
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CDC Disclaimer
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.
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