HIV/AIDS: Black Apathy or Ignorance?

by Cindy Barnes-Thomas | Wednesday, December 03, 2008

When you know better, you do better. Or so the saying goes, but that's not the case when it comes to HIV/AIDS. Even though we know how it is contracted, transmitted and prevented, the number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses continues to rise at a staggering rate in the Black community.

December 1st marked the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Although there have been major strides in treatment and even a possible vaccination on the horizon, the rate of new infections among African-Americans is alarming. In 2006, 40% of all men newly infected with HIV were African-American. Am I the only one who finds this completely and utterly disturbing?

Safe sex has been a mantra for decades now, but clearly not many are taking heed or they tuned out a long time ago. Black women represented 66% of AIDS diagnoses in women in 2006. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among Black women aged 25-34. The statistics are even worse for young people. Blacks aged 19 to 24 years are around 20 times more likely to be infected with HIV than young adults in any other racial group.

What’s really going on here? Is it willful ignorance or just plain not giving a damn? Research suggests a myriad of reasons why African-Americans are disproportionately affected. Lack of access to health care, poverty, genetic factors, sexual behavior, racism, prisons, and drug use are all possible factors.

Since the face of HIV/AIDS doesn’t necessarily appear to be on death’s door, maybe people aren’t taking it as seriously. Is it because high-profile people such as Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson are seemingly asymptomatic and lead full, robust lives that people don’t consider it a critical health issue? The statistics reflect diagnoses of HIV/AIDS. What’s even more frightening is how many people are infected and don’t even know it.

Granted, HIV/AIDS isn’t the immediate death sentence that it once was, but just because you can survive and thrive in spite of the disease doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what you can to prevent it in the first place.

Is it a lack of self worth that leads people to engage in self-destructive behavior like drug use or unprotected sex that exposes them to HIV/AIDS? Who knows, but the point is that we have got to do better. Life is hard enough as it is and it’s time we wake up and do a better job of protecting ourselves, bottom line. We can no longer afford to play victim and cry woe is me when it comes to taking care of ourselves and preserving our health. The onus is on us.