Philly is Burning- The city's ballroom scene is both a social and support network for young LGBT African-Americans.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/philly_is_burning-38424209.html?printView=y

Longevity of AIDS Patients Presents New HIV Risks

UNITED STATES:   "Longevity of AIDS Patients Presents New Risks: US"

Agence France Presse     (06.02.11)

CDC is marking the 30th anniversary of AIDS this week by calling on Americans to recommit themselves to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment efforts.

 

"Over the last three decades, prevention efforts have helped reduce new infections and treatment advances have allowed people with HIV to live longer, healthier lives," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden. "But as these improvements have taken place, our nation's collective sense of crisis has waned. Far too many Americans underestimate their risk of infection or believe HIV is no longer a serious health threat, but they must understand that HIV remains an incurable infection."

 

"Currently, more than 1.1 million people in the United States live with HIV, and as this number increases, so does the risk of transmission," Frieden said.

 

The agency released updated data Thursday showing that 20 percent of teenagers and adults with HIV are unaware of their infection. Approximately 1,819 of every 100,000 African Americans have HIV, 593 of Hispanics or Latinos and 238 of whites. The rate of new HIV infection for black men is six times that of white men, and about three times that of Hispanic men. Black women are 15 times more likely to have HIV compared to their white peers, and almost four times more likely than Hispanic women. Among Hispanics, the rate of new infections among men is more than double that of white men, and the rate among Latinas is almost four times that of white women.

 

Men who have sex with men continue to be disproportionately impacted by the disease, accounting for nearly 50 percent of people living with HIV.

 

"Today, the most infections are among people under 30, a new generation that has never known a time without effective HIV treatments and who may not fully understand the significant health threat HIV poses," Frieden noted.

 

To view CDC's media statement, visit http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/s0602_hivaids30years.html. The update, "HIV Surveillance - United States, 1981-2008," was published in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2011;60(21):689-693).

Black MSM Focus of New HIV Campaign

UNITED STATES:   "Black MSM Focus of New HIV Campaign"

Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco)     (05.26.11):: Matthew S. Bajko

 

CDC's "Know Where You Stand" prevention campaign urges African-American men who have sex with men to learn their HIV status. Launching in 14 cities, the outreach has recently put up billboards in Oakland and San Francisco calling for black MSM to "Get Tested. Know More."

 

Banner ads touting the same message are running on several websites that target black MSM, including LOL Darian, Black Gay Chat Live, and DowneLink. The campaign also will feature prominently at Black Pride events across the country this summer.

 

CDC consulted 19 black MSM stakeholders to assist in developing the campaign, a group that ranged from community leaders to researchers. Ernest Hopkins, legislative director for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, was one of those who helped CDC "go through the literature and test campaign ideas to really begin to understand what would be needed in order to address this population in a culturally appropriate way."

 

Another consultant was Venton Jones, a D.C.-based senior program associate for communications and member education at the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition. The campaign message of "knowing your truth" is designed to get men not only to test for HIV but also take care of their health in general, he said. "It is powerful just in the title itself to know where you stand, and that is making sure you get tested and if you are positive, to start treatment," Jones noted.

 

"Know Where You Stand" is part of CDC's Act Against AIDS, which launched in 2009 as a multi-pronged, five-year campaign.

 

Data show black MSM are the group most disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. A 2008 CDC study of 21 US cities found that 28 percent of black MSM were HIV-positive, of which 59 percent were unaware of their infection.

NBLCA Condemns Homophobia

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National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS Newsletter

NBLCA Board Chair Condemns Homophobia, Stigma and Discrimination
February 1, 2011
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A STATEMENT FROM

THE REV. DR. CALVIN O. BUTTS, III

Chairman of the Board

National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc.

The January 28, 2011 edition of the New York Times contained two articles which saddened and compelled me to release a statement in response. The first article reported the death of David Kato, a young gay rights advocate in Uganda who was bludgeoned to death with a hammer supposedly in a botched robbery attempt. However, most believe that Mr. Kato was yet another victim of the senseless violence targeting gays in Uganda simply because of their sexual orientation.

Gay rights activists in Uganda attribute the current rein of terror to the March 2009 visit of a group of American evangelicals. Reportedly, the evangelicals traveled around the country hosting rallies and workshops on how to change people from gay to straight. They claimed that gay men were attempting to seduce innocent teenage boys in an effort to recruit them to become members of an “evil institution.” Since then, hundreds of gay men and women have been the victims of vigilante violence and many have lost their lives. The government of Uganda has gone so far as to propose legislation, still pending in Parliament, which would allow so called “serial” gays and persons living with HIV to be executed. Furthermore, the bill would impose life imprisonment on consenting adults who engage in same sex behavior. It is in this toxic environment that Mr. Kato lost his life.

The second article concerned the decision of several conservative groups and an academic institution, Liberty University, here in the United States, to withdraw sponsorship support for this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference due to the involvement of GOProud, a group of gay conservative Republicans. The dean of the Liberty University School of Law was quoted as saying that “GOProud is working to undermine one of our core values.” Another group’s representative claimed that the gay organization was trying to “force public affirmation of homosexual conduct.” What was the real cause of this uproar, you ask? GOProud signed on as a co-sponsor of the conference.

Although we may not feel a connection to Mr. Kato’s death or the controversy swirling around GOProud because of where we live, where we worship or how we vote, we are all impacted by the homophobia, bigotry, ignorance, senseless fear, and in some cases, outright stupidity, that devalues us as a society. Homophobia, stigma and discrimination have no place in a civilized society. As Chairman of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc., I can say without hesitation that this feeds the transmission of HIV/AIDS by driving many to engage in forms of behavior, including high-risk sex and substance abuse, often resulting in infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best when he wrote in his April 16, 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Beloved, whether it is violence against gays in Uganda or the bigoted actions of individuals here in the United States, injustice against any of God’s children, is a threat to justice for all of God’s children. When we allow ourselves to be guided by hate, we defy the will of God and distance ourselves from his grace.

I urge you to search your own hearts and remember that your words and actions can cause irreparable harm to your fellow human beings. Gay people deserve our love and compassion, not our hatred, scorn, and self-righteousness.

Contact Information

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phone: 212-614-0023

Guess Who?????

Guess who's back in the house????

It has been a long time since I have posted on here, and yes, I have been very busy with a lot of things! Mostly good things of course, but it's 2011 and I am grateful to say I made it over. 2010 was a great year as well, just to be clear, but I am definitely looking forward to what's ahead.

Be on the look out........because I am back and ready to attack!!!!!!