AIDS, funding and the lost of public trust

In every major urban city, rural community and suburban town AIDS has a home. It doesn’t matter whether you are straight or gay, white, black, red, yellow or brown, AIDS is right around the corner. For folks who have the highest infection and death rates, primarily Black, Latino and/or gay, your care plays a significant role in your day-to-day life. The services you receive are vital to your survival. In DC as well as New York, a number of agencies and nonprofits have been caught squandering the resources used for housing, food, healthcare and other services needed in at-risk communities.

The organizations who have received hundreds of thousands dollars, even millions have victimized the very people they are suppose to serve. Misappropriation of funds, services promised but not provided, supervisors and specific staff helping themselves out to cash bonuses, gifts and trips while clients and patients lose out of access to services and/or necessary AIDS awareness and prevention information. And when the accused is caught, fingers point to everyone but themselves. Where are the checks and balances in government funding???? Hundreds of organizations have already suffered through funding loss during 8 years of the Bush administration and then more cuts due to the recession. Abusing an ill equipped system only further justifies the lack of trust and confirms the lack of accountability.

This is not to say that all AIDS organizations much less all non-profits misuse their funding. Many organizations are providing incredible services to individuals, groups and families around the country.  What hurts their good work is the selfish acts of a few who threaten the funding opportunities of other groups and the credibility of service based organizations. If any good can come out of this is the creation of a National AIDS Action Plan that has the input of several organizations, agencies, advocates, PWA’s (people living with AIDS), PWLHIV (people living with HIV), healthcare professionals and policy makers to develop a plan that recommends but not necessarily oversees funding, programming  and policy. A plan that can look at the overall system of AIDS services throughout the country, reduce redunancy in key areas, duplicate successful programs, track progress and eliminate or at least reduce waste. A plan that can look a the success and failures of prevention, awareness and care systems around the world and partner with other countries that have similar trends but with better outcomes. We have the resources, technology and research to do a better job. So, hopefully in 5 to 10 years, a HIV+ woman won’t die alone in a park only a few blocks from the HIV/AIDS administration or from resources that could have provided the help she not only needed but deserved.

Free HIV Testing in NYC

HIV Awareness and the Congo:

Breaking the Silence

Are we at the end or just in the beginning???

If previous trials of AIDS vaccines hadn’t been so disappointing, the results from the latest trial wouldn’t seem so promising.

Is this the end of HIV/AIDS as we know it. This new discovery is not a cure but it can make significant difference in slowing down the disease. Will this change the direction of AIDS activism and advocacy???

Will this vaccine change AIDS education and awareness. Will there be a push to put money towards a cure instead of prevention efforts. And will it give folks another excuse not to practice safe sex.  How will this change your sexual practices and behavior??? Do we now have a “get out of jail” card if infected!

A Successful Benefit Screening in D.C.

There are no words that can express my joy and gratitude for the gathering we had at JoJo’s restaurant in D.C. this past Sunday, Oct. 4th. Produced by Colette Williams of Ol Soul Project, a resident of the D.C. area, a fellow SU alum and Delta as well as an incredible singer.

Colie Williams, singer and benefit organizer

She organized a wonderful night of entertainment with local spoken word artists and performers. She even blessed us with two songs, one an original composition of hers that blew everyone away. Our host Kimberly Collins, an acclaimed writer in her own right, helped keep the evening moving along smoothly.

Kimberly Collins, Hostess

The spoken word artists that she introduced were Hari Jones, Khadijah Moon Ali-Coleman, Love the poet and Black Root.

Hari Jones, poet

Khadijah Moon Ali-Coleman, poet

Love the poet

The poets that graced the mic were incredible and I want to thank them all for sharing their talent and time. Each artist dropped jewels of knowledge on subjects as varied as losing a family member to AIDS, love and urban youth, captivating the audience with each word they spoke.

Black Root, poet

We were also fortunate enough to have art donated to us by Sharon J. Burton, an amazing self-taught artist. The two pieces she brought were beautiful as well as moving and thoughtful. We were pleased and grateful to have her assist in our fundraising efforts.

Sharon Butler, artist with two raffle winners

The evening ended with a screening of the trailer for the documentary, which is available as a short documentary in the education market, at Third World Newsreel. The film was well received and we had a lively discussion about AIDS in the Black community. We even met a gentlemen from the Army, who just happened to come into the club, and it was revealed that he was apart of the team that is developing the AIDS vaccine in Thailand. When he stood up and asked to speak, many had no idea where this was going. A friend of mine thought he was going to go Kanye West on us. “Yo, no disrespect! This event is great and all but the one last night was the greatest of all time.” As you can see, it was a wonderful night which was made even more special by our host JoJo’s restaurant, which is also where Colette, also know as Colie, performers every Wednesday night. So, if  you are in D.C. and looking for a great place to eat, listen to some good music and just chill, then JoJo’s your place.

JoJo's restaurant in DC

This was a great night and we hope to have more events like this in the near future. If you are interested in hosting a screening or organizing a fundraising event, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us through our contact us page.

Until then, for your viewing pleasure, we’ve added some photos of the evening so you can get a sense of the spirit of the night!

Syracuse Univ Alum at the screening

Cyrille Phipps, filmmaker

The evening's performers and host

Upcoming Radio Interview and Screening in D.C.

Black organizations starting to address HIV/AIDS

Tony Wafford has taught his three daughters that when they go on a date, they need to be prepared: They carry a credit card, cash for a cab, a cell phone and a condom.

Does homophobia play a role in the increase of HIV infections???

On the PBS program, World Focus, reporter Lisa Biagiotti, looks at homophobia in Jamaica tonight, in the two part series, “There are no gay parades in Jamaica.” The issue of homophobia in this West Indian Island has been a hotly debated topic since the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) criticized and boycotted events of Reggae/Dance Hall performers Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton in the early 90’s. This issue received further attention with the widely released report, Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic by Rebecca Schleifer of the Human Rights Watch.

It is widely believed that the hatred and violence against gay men, in particular, has played a role in the increase of HIV. Some men who are gay in Jamaica, tend not to seek HIV/AIDS education, therefore don’t practice safe sex with their partner(s), much less seek treatment if infected with the virus. This level of stigma, encourages men who have sex with other men, to seek shelter through a heterosexual relationship. And more than likely not use condoms with either partner.

In the United States, it is also believed that homophobia, stigma and isolation has also helped fueled AIDS in the Black Community. Although, the level of violence is not the same as in Jamaica, the issues of shame, fear and stigma are very similar.

If homophobia does play a role in the rise of infection rates, how do we as a community fight against the stigma and fear that fuels the shame? How do we talk to each other about sex and sexuality? And how do we learn to negotiate safe sex, even with a long term partner (boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover)???

Much to think about, much to discuss!

Please share your thoughts and comments.  Let’s talk amongst ourselves!!!

What does it take for women to get serious about their sexual health???

In an article from empower her, a women’s health online site, the dialogue continues about women and their sexual health. The same way you look after your partner/husband/wife, the same way you take care of your children and your parents, is the same way, we as women must take care of all aspects of our health.

“Women should have their partners tested for HIV/AIDS before sleeping with them and should avoid contact with blood or bodily fluids from other people.“

Join the discussion and add your two cents. Let’s take a stand on safe sex and HIV awareness!

Is AIDS A Black Disease???

“AIDS in America today is a black disease,” says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the The Black AIDS Institute (BAI) and himself HIV-positive for 20 years.”  This statement came after BAI released the report, “Left Behind! Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS Epidemic”. During the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico, he also stated in a press conference, “The U.S. is failing its people and that is a direct attack on Black America.” “This failure to respond is particularly acute in the epidemic in Black America.”

Is it true AIDS is a Black disease? If  so, why isn’t there a national call to action among all the AIDS organizations that serve people of color and the African American community? Why has the Black community fail to respond with the same passion and anger the gay community demonstrated over twenty years ago?

Does stating AIDS as a Black disease increase the stigma, fear and ignorance around this epidemic? Does this labeling do more to hurt our efforts to end AIDS in the Black community? In a posting responding to CNN’s Black in America program last summer, the author writes, “I admire what they are attempting to accomplish, but labeling AIDS as a “Black disease” is WRONG and short-sighted. Your temporary headlines on CNN and a possible up tick in funding are nothing compared to the damage that will likely follow if people are able to write off AIDS as a problem for “that other group of people” I thought we already fought this battle. Anybody can contract this disease.”

Where do we go from here? Both arguments are right and both are wrong.  One thing that we can agree is that the infection rates as well as the death rates are extremely high in the Black community, especially among Black women and Black MSM (men who have sex with men). The statistics certainly don’t lie despite what some naysayers want to believe. AIDS, as well as many others diseases are having a devastating effect among African Americans. How these diseases affect our community has as much to do with health as the psychological, social, economical and political climate we live in.  We need to examine the role we have as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives and partners, how that role plays out in our relationships and in our sexual practices.

I don’t claim to have the answers but I certainly want to extend the dialogue about AIDS in our community. I want to see individuals, AIDS organizations (local and national), community based non-profits as well as funders come together to address this issue. I want us as a community to start caring for each other the way we are suppose to. I want that caring to show up in the way we take a friend to get an HIV test, the way we practice safe sex and the way we  talk to a love one if we know they are involved in reckless behavior.  Be proactive!

Remember, the life you save might not only be someone you love, it might be yours!

Phill Wilson, The Black AIDS Institute

Listen to Phill Wilson from the Black AIDS Institute talk about AIDS in Black America and visit the Black AIDS Institute website. They have some great articles about HIV/AIDS in the Black community and how we should address it.

http://www.blackaids.org/