Miami Herald - Thursday, July 2, 1998
Herald Staff

With deadly proficiency, the AIDS virus has become a quiet scourge among black Americans.

Disturbing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week show that African Americans, who make up 13 percent of the population, account for nearly 57 percent of all new infections with HIV, which causes AIDS. Equally disturbing has been the response -- or the lack thereof, really -- from groups and organizations that traditionally have rallied black communities against such threats.

The issue isn't on the agendas of the Urban League or the NAACP, which hold their national conventions this summer. Nor have black churches, but for a few notable exceptions, stepped up to campaign against the disease.

The news from the CDC is especially poignant for U.S. experts participating in the AIDS conference in Geneva this week. They tout the value of education and prevention programs in reducing the spread of the disease. That message is appropriate for developing nations in Africa and Asia, where the prevalence of the disease is far greater than in the United States and where the cost of AIDS medicines is prohibitive.

In African-American communities in Florida and elsewhere, the incidence of

AIDS is nowhere close to the levels found in some countries. Nor do the CDC numbers represent an actual increase of the disease among African Americans. Instead, the data show a shift in the proportion of the disease affecting blacks compared with whites, who have experienced a dramatic drop in cases.

Part of the difference stems from the fact that many programs don't specifically target blacks. Other reasons, however, have to do with attitudes of ambivalence and fear in black communities. AIDS taps into historical, deep-seated concerns among many blacks about being stigmatized unfairly. In addition, it represents a convergence of difficult questions about sex, drugs, and homosexuality. "It's like the pink elephant that nobody wants to talk about," a Washington, D.C., minister was quoted in a New York Times article.

As a result, many black churches and civic groups have been silent about the disease. Aside from a few prominent African Americans such as the late tennis star Arthur Ashe and former basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson, individual blacks likewise haven't tackled AIDS head-on. The fight against AIDS cannot be engaged fully without involvement and support of African-American communities.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1998. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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