Every day, in ways both large and small, each of us has deciding moments. Moments when we decide to do good, bad or nothing. Today we are at a collective deciding moment. When it comes to HIV/AIDS, there is no difference between doing bad and doing nothing. Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good man do nothing.” That is especially so in Black America.
The year 2011 represents a landmark in the AIDS epidemic. It marks 30 years since initial recognition of the disease, and 15 years since the number of new HIV infections among Blacks in the U.S. surpassed those among whites. 2011 also marks 15 years since regulatory approval of a new class of drugs, protease inhibitors, which made combination antiretroviral therapy possible.
Antiretroviral therapy revolutionized medical management of HIV infection, resulting in a sharp reduction in HIV-related illness and death. I’m one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans—and millions of people worldwide— who are alive today because of this medical breakthrough. These are certainly reasons for celebrations.