Black AIDS Institute founder Phil Wilson spoke before the National Association of Black Journalists in Washington DC March 25 on why HIV/AIDS has become a “blacker” disease in 2011 and the responsibility of black journalists to continue covering the epidemic.
HIV activist Marteniz Brown spoke before the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Washington DC March 25, 2011 about his life and the importance of discussing HIV and tolerance in the black community
SisterLove founder Dazon Diallo spoke before the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Washington DC March 25, 2011 on why HIV/AIDS is a reproductive rights issue for black women.
By Talia Whyte
Bay State Banner
African Americans continue to be hit the hardest by the AIDS epidemic nationwide. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blacks account for almost half of all Americans living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and they make up nearly half of new infections every year. Roughly one in 16 black men and one in 30 black women will be infected at some point in their lives.
However, health advocates are growing increasingly concerned about one specific high-risk group that research has shown to be most severely impacted by HIV — black men who have sex with men, or MSM. (The term “MSM” is used to broadly identify men who consider themselves gay or bisexual, as well as those who do sleep with men but don’t identify themselves as either, according to researchers.)
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