CDC Study: Black gay men in the United States have a 50% chance of getting HIV

A new study from the Centers For Disease Control got me pretty sad today. According to the results, Black gay men in the United States have a 50% chance of getting HIV. Then, there's this... all men who have sex with men face a 79-times higher risk of contracting HIV than do heterosexual men.

The CDC study was just released and it's chock full of info that will leave you with a heavy heart. While the numbers are down overall, gay men of color are still quite high. Sadly, this is the norm. It feels like we stay at high risk. I know there are so many programs and outreach events to educate our communities of color. Still, it seems like we continue to lose.

I personally hate to see any study that show us at high risk. I want to believe these numbers are wrong, but... I guess the numbers don't lie. We have to better, folks.

Protect yourself, protect yourself, protect yourself!

You have to do this in order to stay alive and healthy. Yes, we have stronger medications and prEP, but you always have to protect yourself at all cost. No dick is worth your life, guys. Please love yourself, respect your partner/trick/fu*kbuddy enough to be safe.

These number have to drop, before it's too late. Skip that, It IS too late. We have to stop being reckless! Please... I can't say this enough, protect yourself.

Question of the Day

Do you remember the first time you took an HIV test?

TMZ: Charlie Sheen will reveal he's HIV positive

Well... wow

TMZ reports:

Charlie Sheen will reveal to the world that he's HIV positive.

Sources connected to NBC's "Today" tell TMZ ... Sheen will sit down with Matt Lauer on Tuesday morning to make the announcement. NBC touted the interview in a press release as Sheen making a "revealing personal announcement." A tabloid report came out Monday claiming Sheen's been keeping the diagnosis secret for years. You've gotta imagine he'll address that report tomorrow morning on "Today."

Michael Johnson sentenced 30 Years for HIV exposure

The story of Michael Johnson is truly sad and yet, very telling of how we view HIV and men of color.

He was student who known as "Tiger Mandingo" to many men he met online. In these sexual encounters, no condom was used and later he was infected with HIV. Some of these men (all White) claimed that he lied about his status. Michael said that they lied and never asked him anything. In fact, they demanded to bareback with him.

After he was reported to the police, Michael was convicted on one count of recklessly infecting another with HIV, three counts of attempting to recklessly expose another to HIV, and one count of recklessly exposing another to HIV. Yesterday, Michael was sentenced to 30 years in prison for infecting and exposing sex partners to HIV.

He's only 23.

I believe there's more to this story and while Michael isn't innocent, the men involved should be also held accountable. I can't truly articulate how I feel about this because there's a lot roaming in my head. Michael faced a lot issues in his life that made he questioned everything he was. These men used him and when there was a price to pay, they quickly turned against him. Again, Michael isn't innocent, but to punish him like this is wrong.

VIDEO: 9 in 10 new US HIV infections come from people not receiving HIV care

From the CDC

In a first-of-its-kind analysis, CDC authors estimated the number of HIV transmissions in the U.S. attributable to people at five consecutive stages of HIV care (including with those who are unaware of their infection, those who are retained in care and those who have their virus under control through treatment). The video uses these data to illustrate the critical role of HIV testing, care, and treatment for protecting the health of those with HIV and for preventing transmission to others.

HIV in the United States: At A Glance

Not so good news, folks!

• More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 7 (14%) are unaware of their infection.
• Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSMa), particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.
• By race, blacks/African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV.

Not good at all.

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Interesting Quote: Phill Wilson, president of the Black AIDS Institute

"The fight is today. It’s a fight that we need to have and it’s certainly tied to access to care, it’s tied to access to information, but it’s also tied to making sure that we understand that everybody matters. Now the new folks that don’t matter in this context are young, black, gay and bisexual men and all of us need to be part of that fight because as we found out in the early days of HIV, HIV spread like it spread because we didn’t care about the first folks that we perceived to be at risk. And as long as anyone is at risk ... to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., we’re all at risk."

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WATCH Various News Clips on HIV/AIDS from 1982-1992

Fresh from the premier of The Normal Heart, we get to see how HIV/AIDS was covered on the news. This is making the rounds on the webs, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon

An Article tries to Discuss the Reasons behind the High HIV rates in Black Gay Men

In an interesting piece in HIVPLUS magazine, we gain a bit more info on the high HIV infections in the Black gay community.

I have pulled on some key points to note:

• In 30 years, 70 percent of 20-year-old black gay men will have HIV. This was presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Studies find that black gay men aren’t any more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than their white peers.
• The White House’s top researcher on this topic, Greg Millett, senior policy adviser in the Office of National AIDS Policy, analyzed seven studies from Canada, 13 from the U.K., and 174 from the U.S., and found that black men who have sex with men (MSM) were no more likely than other gay or bisexual men to have unprotected sex. 
• And despite societal problems, such as the fact that black men face higher rates of unemployment than other races or are less likely to graduate from high school, the analysis points out that black gay men are actually 40 percent more likely to do simple protective things like wear a condom during sex.
• The Lancet’s analysis points out that young black gay men also have a 65 percent greater chance of becoming sexually active early in life than their white peers, and they have an 82 percent greater risk of childhood sexual abuse.

It's an interesting read, please check it out.

NY Times: Poor Black and Hispanic Men Are the Face of H.I.V.

I stumbled on this article today. It addresses the issues facing Black and Latino men, and HIV infections.

Here's one of the key parts of the article for me:

Nationally, 25 percent of new infections are in black and Hispanic men, and in New York City it is 45 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the city’s health department.

Nationally, when only men under 25 infected through gay sex are counted, 80 percent are black or Hispanic — even though they engage in less high-risk behavior than their white peers.

The prospects for change look grim. Critics say little is being done to save this group, and none of it with any great urgency.

“There wasn’t even an ad campaign aimed at young black men until last year — what’s that about?” said Krishna Stone, a spokeswoman for GMHC, which was founded in the 1980s as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

Phill Wilson, president of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, said there were “no models out there right now for reaching these men.”

Federal and state health officials agreed that it had taken years to shift prevention messages away from targets chosen 30 years ago: men who frequent gay bars, many of whom are white and middle-class, and heterosexual teenagers, who are at relatively low risk. Funding for health agencies has been flat, and there has been little political pressure to focus on young gay blacks and Hispanics.

Please check out the article here. I found it to be on point, but disheartening. My brothers are dying and we haven't figured out a way to stop this.

President Obama Reveals $100 million HIV Research Project

 President Barack Obama announced a $100 million plan to find a cure for HIV. He also revealed that 6 million people, worldwide, gained access to anti-retroviral drugs. The multi-million initiative will help find and create "a new generation of therapies." This is huge news. source

Never Forget...

This is the picture of David Kirby, who was in his last bout with AIDS. He was surrounded by his family as he past on.

For many people, this picture opened a lot of eyes to AIDS.  The struggle was/is real and this picture gave so much.

Never Forget... World AIDS Day.

What in the F*ck? A Sharp increase in Unprotected Sex among Gay Men

WTF? Why is this on the rise again?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men are having unprotected anal sex a lot more than before. In fact, the numbers rose almost 20% from 2005 to 2011. And according to the 2011 survey, most of these men don't know the H.I.V. status of the other guy.

Really? We are here again? I know a lot of this has to with self-esteem and other personal issues, but please fam, think of your lives and others!

These numbers can't continue to grow! They can't!

Go here for more on this disturbing news.

AIDS epidemic could end by 2030

Top United Nations officials believe that the HIV/AIDS epidemic could be over by 2030, due to the advancements in medication and prevention
.
Luis Loures, a deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said this:

"I think that 2030 is a viable target to say that we have reached the end of the epidemic. HIV will continue existing as a case here or there but not at the epidemic level we have today.”

UNAIDS reports that new infections has fallen 20% over the past decade, and in 25 countries, by 50%.
Over the past two years, the number of people who are receiving treatment has increased 60%.

This is very good news, folks

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In West Virginia...

This sticker is beyond ridic.

thanks to my buddy, Milo for this

Dallas Councilwoman Vonciel Hill complains about HIV/AIDS ad featuring Black Men

More mess in Texas.

A new ad/billboard campaign for AIDS/HIV awareness in Dallas is geared to the Black community in the area. Numbers are growing fast in the area and the Dallas County Health Director Zachary Thompson wants to spread the word before it gets worse.

However, some folks have problems with some of billboards showcasing Black gay men. Councilwoman Vonciel Hill isn't happy about this at all. She thinks the ad will promote homosexuality and tell others that gay is okay. She believes that the ads say:

"African American men who engage in homosexual conduct [are] presented as acceptable".

Vonciel is known for her anti-gay views and backwards thinking. She doesn't see the educational pieces within the ad campaign. She sees gay sex and silly Bible blab that keeps gay men in closet and beset by fear.

Vonciel's views are a part of the reasons why the HIV rate continues to rise among the Black community in the Dallas area. Hopefully, these ads will save lives.

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New Report: 22% Increase in HIV Among Young Gay Men

Not so good news, folks.

New HIV infections has increased by 22% between 2008 and 2010 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gay and bisexual men make up 66% of those new infections, and sadly, Black men make up the highest than any other group in this study.

Fam please... protect yourself, respect yourself and love yourself.

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New Trailer: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of the brave young men and women who successfully reversed the tide of an epidemic, demanded the attention of a fearful nation and stopped AIDS from becoming a death sentence. This improbable group of activists bucked oppression and, with no scientific training, infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, helping to identify promising new medication and treatments and move them through trials and into drugstores in record time. In the process, they saved their own lives and ended the darkest days of a veritable plague, while virtually emptying AIDS wards in American hospitals in the process. The powerful story of their fight is a classic tale of empowerment and activism that has since inspired movements for change in everything from breast cancer research to Occupy Wall Street. Their story stands as a powerful inspiration to future generations, a road map, and a call to arms. This is how you change the world.

NAACP creates HIV/AIDS Manual for Black churches

The NAACP has joined in fight to stop the rise of HIV/AIDS in the Black community. They have created a manual for church leaders to talk about HIV/AIDS with their members.

Here's more:

Shavon Arline-Bradley, the director of health programs for the NAACP, who helped oversee the manual’s creation, said it makes sense for the nation’s largest civil rights organization to be involved in the discussion of HIV and AIDS.

“People look at us as just civil right rights, and what they’re missing is that health is one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time,” Arline-Bradley said.

Religious leaders who helped with the manual said black churches have been reluctant to talk about the disease. That’s in part because the topic is wrapped up with sex and homosexuality, often taboo topics in the church.

“Sex is not something church people like to talk about. It’s something they like to do,” said the Rev. Joseph Smith, the assistant to the pastor of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., and one of the people who worked on the manual.

This is a good first step.

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New Report: Black Gay Men are more affected by AIDS than any population in the developed world

This is devastating news. According to the Black AIDS Institute, most Black Gay men are deeply affected the AIDS epidemic.

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. 

"This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. 

Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

This is just a piece of the report, here it is in full from Tlrd. However, this info goes hand in hand with the Frontline special, ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America - you can watch it here

  

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-black-gay-men-affected-aids.html#jCp

"Black MSM continue to be first in line when it comes to need, but remain at the back of the line when it comes to assistance," said Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "This report not only highlights the gaps and why they still exist after 30 years, but it also provides a blueprint for how to close the gaps and move those most at risk up to the front." Black MSM account for 1 in 500 Americans, but represent nearly 1 in 4 new HIV infections. Black MSM are also significantly less likely to be alive three years after being diagnosed with AIDS than are white or Latino MSM. By the age of 25, Black gay men have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming infected with HIV.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-black-gay-men-affected-aids.html#jCp