Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc.; Saturday, July 11, 1998
Mike Cooper

Kweisi Mfume, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he would ask the NAACP's board for approval of "an outright street protest" to focus attention on AIDS and HIV-infection among the black community.

"It is a national emergency, in many respects," Mfume said at a news conference on Saturday. "If we don't say something, no one else will."

AIDS has become the leading cause of death for blacks aged 25 to 44, Mfume said, and 85 percent of children with AIDS are black or Hispanic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that blacks accounted for 63 percent of cases of HIV-infection among young people aged 13 to 24.

"These statistics, in any other area and any other disease, would be considered of epidemic proportions," he said. Mfume said the NAACP "is prepared now, quite frankly, to go into the streets" because federal health agencies have not devoted enough resources to community-based AIDS prevention programs.

Mfume said the civil rights organization founded in 1909 would also address discrimination against of black farmers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the disproportionate number of blacks pulled over by police while driving, and persistent political efforts to end affirmative action programs.

Three years ago, the NAACP had a $4.8 million debt. Its former director, Benjamin Chavis, was forced out in 1994 following the reported use of $332,400 in NAACP funds to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by a former staff member. Chavis later joined Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.

Mfume, a former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the NAACP has put those problems "where they properly belong, behind us and in the past."

The organization now has 500,000 paid members, including 67,000 young people, and membership has seen "moderate, sustained growth," Mfume said. He said the NAACP finished last year with a $2.1 million surplus.

During the six-day convention, delegates are expected to pass a resolution urging an investigation of the Justice Department for "selective discrimination" against black contributors to political campaigns.

Also expected to be approved are resolutions criticizing trends to fingerprint juveniles who are charged with committing crimes and try them as adults, and a resolution urging that actor, scholar and athlete Paul Robeson be honored with a postage stamp.

980711
RE980712

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.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1998. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .