News 2016
In This Issue
Thirty-five years ago this week, the world was introduced to what would become the health catastrophe of our time, when the CDC released the June 5, 1981 MMWR (Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report) identifying rare cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) among five white gay men at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. A lot has happened over the last 35 years, but the most important thing about HIV/AIDS is that it is not over, especially in Black communities—and it will never be over in our communities unless we decide to make it so. All of the scientific breakthroughs in the world, all of the advances in surveillance, diagnosis, treating and preventing HIV will not end the AIDS pandemic in Black communities, unless we decide that Black lives matter, our lives matter enough to do the right thing about HIV/AIDS. That means confronting stigma and ignorance in our communities. That means fighting for access to both preventive and therapeutic therapies and acknowledging the critical role that poverty, housing instability, poor education and the other social determinants of health play in the perpetuation of this virus. It means fighting racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia and all of the stupid distractions that prevent us from seeing how much we have in common and how deeply our destinies are inextricably connected. And during this season, it means voting and organizing as if our lives depended on it, because they do.
Hillary Clinton Issues Statement in Commemoration of the 35th Anniversary of the AIDS Epidemic
Senator Hillary Clinton
On Sunday, the 35th anniversary of the first reported cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States, Hillary Clinton released the following statement. As she becomes the first woman in the history of our nation to capture the presidential nomination of a major political party, we think her positions on HIV and AIDS are significant and worth sharing.
Statement by the President on the 35th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS in America
President Barack Obama
On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report on what would later be understood as the first documented cases of AIDS. The past 35 years tell a story that bends from uncertainty, fear, and loss toward resilience, innovation, and hope.
Read more: Statement by the President on the 35th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS in America
BTAN Los Angels and Bienestar: "Black, Brown and Beyond: Building Our Future"
A New Campaign Targeting Gay and Bisexual Men of Color
Working together
In recognition of the 35th anniversary of the first reported HIV/AIDS cases in the United States and LGBT Pride month in Los Angeles, the Black Treatment Advocates Network Los Angeles (BTAN LA), in partnership with Bienestar, Christopher Street West (CSW), Watts Health Foundation, and Car Pros Kia of Carson is thrilled to announce the launch of "Black, Brown and Beyond: Building Our Future," a powerful new campaign design to spotlight the HIV/AIDS epidemic among gay and bisexual, same gender loving and other men of color who have sex with men. The campaign will kick off from June 10-12, 2016 at the 2016 LA Pride Festival and annual CSW parade, and at a series of AIDS awareness activations, HIV testing events in four public housing complexes located in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, and a weekend retreat in the month of June.
On 35th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS, Black AIDS Institute Primes New Activists
Graduates of the African American HIV University, Class of 2016, surrounded by (standing, left) Dr. Darrell Wheeler, (seated, center) Phill Wilson, Rebekah Israel and Professor Dr. Jeffrey Klausner
As we mark the 35th anniversary of HIV and AIDS in the United States, the Black AIDS Institute is proud to announce that it is launching a new cohort of AIDS activists into the world, including its latest graduates of the African American HIV University (AAHU) and five Black Treatment Advocate Network (BTAN) fellows who will join its biannual delegation to the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, next month.
Read more: On 35th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS, Black AIDS Institute Primes New Activists