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Washington, DC (September 25, 2007)- A new national report by the Black AIDS Institute on the State of AIDS in Black America will be released today at a 9:00 a.m. press conference hosted by members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) at the Cannon House Office Building, Cannon Terrace.

In conjunction with the release of the report - We're the Ones We've been waiting for: The State of AIDS in Black America and what we are doing about it! , members of the Congressional Black Caucus will release an open letter calling for a mass Black mobilization to end the AIDS epidemic in black America and the development of a national AIDS plan in the United States.

This "Call to Action" is part of a national coordinated campaign and mass Black response to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, being organized by The Balm In Gilead, The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS and the Black AIDS Institute and includes a national HIV testing campaign with a goal of providing HIV screening for 1 million African Americans by December 1, 2008-World AIDS Day.

CBC members scheduled to participate in the press conference include:

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) Rep. Al Green (D-TX) Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)

Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) Rep. Hank Johnson, (D-GA) Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC)

Sixteen leading Black institutions from various sectors of the community have also joined the campaign, including faith, civil rights, media, entertainment, academia, and politics and will unveil their strategic plans to address HIV/AIDS in their area of influence.

"It is essential that Black Elected officials to be at the forefront of educating the nation about the importance of ending HIV/AIDS in their communities," said Debra Fraser-Howze, CEO, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

When nearly half of the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are Black, AIDS in America today is a Black disease," said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute. "We are calling on anyone interested in the well-being of Black people to help build and mobilize a mass Black response against this deadly disease."

Over the last decade, Black people have come to bear the greatest burden of AIDS in America. They represent 54 percent of the new HIV/AIDS cases in America, 70 percent of the new cases among American youth are Black, and nearly 67 percent of the new HIV/AIDS cases among American women are Black, and 43 percent of the new cases among men are Black. Most importantly, the majority of those still dying from AIDS in America, totaling more than 18,000 last year, were Black.

"There is no solution to AIDS in the Black Community that doesn't begin and end with us," said U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). "Those of us whose communities are being overtaken by HIV and AIDS, must take our heads out of the sand, take ownership and solve this problem. We must stand up and be counted, ask for the money, demand the resources and call on all of the members of our community to act and accept personal responsibility," declared Rep. Waters.

"The unfortunate reality is that to be Black in America is to be at greater risk of HIV/AIDS, and we are here today to reaffirm our commitment to changing that reality." Said U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D- CA) "This is not an ideological issue. It is a moral and humanitarian call for equality and justice, and each of us must do our part."