In This Issue

A brand new 2016 Kia forte from CarPros Kia of Carson. A free 7-day trip to Durban South Africa! These are just two of the incentives organizers of the Black Lives Matter: Health & Hip Hop conference are using to encourage young Black men to attend the free, day-long gathering on HIV/AIDS and Black men's health being held at the Morgan State University Student Union on Saturday, October 24, beginning at 9 a.m.

We may not know everything about HIV and AIDS. But we do know this: How to stop new HIV infections. We know how to stop transmission of HIV from an HIV-positive person to a HIV-negative one. We also know how to stop the acquisition of HIV by an HIV-negative person from an HIV-positive one. This combination provides an opportunity to end the AIDS epidemic, but you wouldn't know it given the high rates of HIV among young Black men in Maryland. Maryland ranks second nationally in its rate of new adult and adolescent diagnoses, and metropolitan Baltimore ranks third among cities in its rate of new HIV diagnoses overall. The greatest increases in infection rates statewide are occurring among Black gay men.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, local AIDS organizations and the four HBCUs are sponsoring the Health & Hip Hop conference to help young Black men better understand HIV and AIDS, and engage them in efforts to change the tide of the epidemic in their communities and protect their friends and themselves from infection.

If Black Lives Matter, we need to be talking about HIV and AIDS among young Black males, especially Black gay and bisexual men. We have to find ways to get their attention. Fortunately, some companies and organizations are putting their money where their mouths are. The men who attend this conference will have a chance to win a brand new car, a trip to South Africa, t-shirts, caps, gift cards and a host of other items, but most importantly they'll receive critically important life-saving information and get connected to services and organizations fighting to end the AIDS epidemic in Maryland.

Last night, VH1 aired Out in Hip Hop, a special forum on homophobia in the hip-hop community. This conference will take that conversation to the next level. I know the Black AIDS Institute is thrilled to be working with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Maryland's HBCUs and local ASOs to re-engage young black men in this battle. Registration is free and open to young Black men between the ages of 18 and 29. Click here to register.

Also in this issue, our dear friend, actor and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph, will be hosting the 25th Annual DIVAS Simply Singing! gala on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 7PM at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. The addition of singer Jordin Sparks to the lineup highlights the D.I.V.A. Foundation's mission to raise awareness and prevent HIV/AIDS among millennials and teenagers. Read on to learn how to attend.

An important new study has found that low-income HIV patients who obtained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act may be doing better than they did on traditional state assistance. In Virginia, researchers discovered that PLWHA who switched from the state's drug-assistance program to Obamacare were more likely to get their HIV "viral load" down to very low or undetectable.

That makes it even more important that we get everyone eligible to obtain health insurance. The Health Insurance Marketplace opens on November 1, when you can enroll, re-enroll, or change plans. To do so visit healthcare.gov.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill