NBJC Issues Statement in Commemoration of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
An estimated 20,000 demonstrators take part in the Queer Liberation March on June 28, 2020, in New York City. Demonstrators gathered to march for LGBTQ and Black Lives as protests continue across the nation.
To commemorate the National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the National Black Justice Coalition issued a statement about the occasion.
NBJC Executive Director David Johns said September 27 is a day of celebration that "HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was." He also gave credit to the "tireless organizing of queer folks" in both the 80s and 90s that made medication for HIV a possibility.
Nonetheless, the executive director added, this is also the time to make a noise about the fact that today, Black people account for 43 percent of all HIV infections, despite the representation of only 12 percent of the population of the United States.
"We need to reject the notion," Johns said, that a diagnosis for HIV is something one should be embarrassed with, "And invite our loved ones into the important conversation around how to manage and control this virus."
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The Need for Government Officials' Support
The coalition's official also said that there is a need for elected officials to support Black people with HIV, or at risk of getting infected, including by holding pharmaceutical firms, health insurance officials, and providers responsible for their role in developing and continuing realized health inequalities.
This is the time, Johns said, for everyone to challenge the continued embarrassment and disgrace around HIV.
More so, there is a need to develop space for those who thrive with HIV to share their individual stories and boost openness about what folks need to take to shield themselves from the infection.
Also indicated in the statement was that being educated and knowing medically precise information, and being able to access everything around the HIV and AIDS awareness is an important "part of the ability of Black queer, trans, and non-binary people" to flourish as one's full beautiful self.
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About the National Gay Men's/HIV Awareness Day
The National Gay Men's/HIV Awareness Day or NGMHAAD is an annual commemoration created to raise awareness about the unequal effect of HIV and AIDS on bisexual and gay men in the U.S.
The NBJC is the country's leading Black LGBTQ civil rights organization. It focuses on federal public policy by joining national leaders, activists, advocates, families, and communities nationwide to highlight opportunities of interrupting the effect that this global health crisis continues to have among Black bisexual and gay men in the U.S.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report indicates that HIV more impacts black gay and bisexual men than any other American group.
Furthermore, even though the number of few diagnoses dropped for African Americans in general in previous years, diagnoses among African American gay and bisexual men arose during the same period.
On this annual celebration, the NBJC has asked to raise awareness about the work that remains to end HIV/AIDS among Black bisexual and gay men.
To help raise awareness, one can share the CDC information on discussing how to prevent HIV. The NBJC also encourages everyone to find a local HIV testing site, not to mention creative methods to encourage family and community members to undergo HIV testing.
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