HIV/AIDS, Racism, and the LGBT Community

Published March 17, 2009 @ 06:49PM PT

HIV/AIDS DC

A report this week from the Washington, DC HIV/AIDS Administration has some staggering news from the nation's capital: 3 percent of the city's population has HIV/AIDS. That rate, according to Shannon Hader of D.C's HIV/AIDS Administration, puts Washington, D.C. on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya in terms of numbers of infected citizens, and D.C's rates are higher than almost all of West Africa.

Those facts should shatter the misconception that HIV/AIDS is no longer a problem here in the U.S. HIV/AIDS is clearly not a developing world disease.

But is HIV/AIDS a black disease? That's what Phil Wilson of the Black AIDS Institute argues, in a recent interview with On Point radio's Tom Ashbrook. Here's what the Black AIDS Institute points out, digging underneath the surface of the D.C. study:

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.

Wilson expanded on these comments on On Point, and his point is crystal clear: no matter how you cut it, AIDS in America is a black disease. Here's his take:

The AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC is a canary in a mineshift. It gives us a view into the window of what's happening with the AIDS epidemic all across Black America today. AIDS in America today is a black disease, no matter how you look at it: through the lens of gender, sexual orientation, age, education, or socio-economic status, or where you live, black people bear the burden of the AIDS epidemic.

Is Wilson right? It sure seems so, looking at the numbers. And if he is right, what obligation does the LGBT community have to address the AIDS pandemic among African-American populations?

In the early-to-mid-1980s, HIV/AIDS was perceived as a gay disease (and to many, it still is), but required straight allies to combat. When it comes to HIV/AIDS in the black community, there should be an obligation among LGBT communities of all races to work to fight the disease, based on our shared experience of the 1980s and beyond. Wilson says solutions should involve (1) pushing for representation for Washington, D.C., (2) pushing to end abstinence-only education programs which offer misleading or false information about HIV/AIDS, (3) dismantling homophobia, (4) lobbying Congress to increase funding to cost-effective programs that promote HIV testing, prevent new HIV infections, and link people who test HIV-positive to life-saving medical care, (5) using culturally appropriate messaging on HIV/AIDS, and (6) grounding people with a sound knowledge in science about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, and how to stop its transmission.

Those are ideas we should all get behind. Some closing words from Wilson:

When the U.S. government gives money to foreign countries, it requires them to have an HIV/AIDS strategy. The U.S. government does not currently have an HIV/AIDS strategy.

It's about time the U.S. developed an AIDS strategy that works to end the disease among all constituencies, black, white, LGBT, straight, men, women, rich, economically disadvantaged and more.

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Comments (4)

Amen to that. I absolutely agree with this post. AIDS does not discriminate, but our society does. The infection does not affect black citizens at much higher rates just because we are black. The infection affects black citizens at much higher rates because of our social, educational, and economic statuses. That list of suggestions is right on target. We need to seriously address this issue because of the horrific human cost, but also because it is an economic vacuum - we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on EACH HIV+ case in this country, from diagnosis to death. This should be part of our economic stimulus, no doubt.

Posted by D W on 03/17/2009 @ 10:59PM PT
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Washington D.C., has unfortunately, an HIV/AIDS rate higher than many West African countries and as such as Uganda. In addition, many of those who have HIV/AIDS are African Americans of United States origin because of the much higher rate than Sub-Saharan people. With these statistics, it's time to readily combat HIV/AIDS which include proper representation for D.C. in Congress and a great erosion to intolerance towards LGBT people.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 03/18/2009 @ 11:05AM PT
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No doubt you have read the story about the increase in HIV in Washington DC. I would like to put out there a possible HIV Auto-Vaccine Treatment Protocol that we believe will prohibit the virus from mutating. We are a small Medical Research US Public Corporation in Ohio who have spent 12 years in research on Viral and Degenerative diseases including HIV. We are already seeking various grants from the stimulus bill to carry out a HIV clinical trial, but would welcome any assistance from members of the public that have in-roads to possible other types of funding and not limited to a possible private placement, under SEC Rules and guidelines. Your site seemed to be an attractive open minded element and as we have been more than proponents of the study of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, we thought you might be interested in letting your members know that we are working very seriously on making a change in the way we look at the treatment of HIV. Nearly all of our research was undertaken in Europe in Italy Germany and London, we are now ready to patent the protocols and hardware. The Auto Vaccine Hypothesis has already been published in a US Medical Journal. Our medical team are of undoubted world class covenant. Any interested parties wishing to know about this medical breakthrough of a new Auto-Vaccine, please contact me at bioseneca@gmail.com
Referenced under Title HIV AUTO VACCINE: Using Ozone as a Moderator.

Also any comments that you may wish to add in the propogation of this concept will be welcome Thanks

Colin Tongs

Posted by Colin Tongs on 03/18/2009 @ 12:44PM PT
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No doubt you have read the story about the increase in HIV in Washington DC. I would like to put out there a possible HIV Auto-Vaccine Treatment Protocol that we believe will prohibit the virus from mutating. We are a small Medical Research US Public Corporation in Ohio who have spent 12 years in research on Viral and Degenerative diseases including HIV. We are already seeking various grants from the stimulus bill to carry out a HIV clinical trial, but would welcome any assistance from members of the public that have in-roads to possible other types of funding and not limited to a possible private placement, under SEC Rules and guidelines. Your site seemed to be an attractive open minded element and as we have been more than proponents of the study of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, we thought you might be interested in letting your members know that we are working very seriously on making a change in the way we look at the treatment of HIV. Nearly all of our research was undertaken in Europe in Italy Germany and London, we are now ready to patent the protocols and hardware. The Auto Vaccine Hypothesis has already been published in a US Medical Journal. Our medical team are of undoubted world class covenant. Any interested parties wishing to know about this medical breakthrough of a new Auto-Vaccine, please contact me at bioseneca@gmail.com
Referenced under Title HIV AUTO VACCINE: Using Ozone as a Moderator.

Also any comments that you may wish to add in the propogation of this concept will be welcome Thanks

Colin Tongs

Posted by Colin Tongs on 03/18/2009 @ 01:02PM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.