Celebrating Dr. King's True Legacy

Tomorrow is Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. If he were alive, he would be 87 years old. I always think it's odd that the predominant (and almost only) reference to Dr. King is his 1963 March on Washington "I Have a Dream" speech. But I think it's sad that we forget that Dr. King was not just a dreamer; first and foremost, he was a doer. He actually changed the world by his actions.

There are and have been many dreamers in the world. Most of them have been forgotten. Dreams alone do not change the world for the better. James 2:14 in the Bible reads, "Faith without works is dead." If faith without works is dead, what then are dreams without actions?

The Black AIDS Institute has a dream, but we're also committed to doing the work. We dream of an AIDS-free generation, a world without AIDS, the end of epidemic, and so on, but we know it's not going to happen unless we make it so. Achieving those dreams requires each and every one of us doing our part.

Our elected leaders have to implement public policies that support the science of AIDS. That means investing in public health, it means expanding Medicaid, it means comprehensive sex education in our schools, among other things.

In the lesbian/gay/bi/trans community, it means refocusing our energies on a battle that is not yet finished. In the mid 90s, AIDS activists created "Until There's A Cure," a community mobilization campaign centered around the LGBT community's commitment to stay in the HIV/AIDS fight until the epidemic was over. While we are closer than we've ever been and closer than we ever imagined we'd be at this point in time, the epidemic is not over. In some communities we have lost ground, and in others we are at risk of losing ground. Treatments without education or access do not a cure make. The LGBT community must honor our commitment.

In Black communities doing our part means saving ourselves. And while everyone must play a role in fighting the AIDS epidemic—wherever they might be, regardless of who they are—the primary responsibility for ending the AIDS epidemic in Black communities, rests in Black communities. Dr. Martin Luther King was constantly challenging us and asking us to examine who we are and what role are we are playing in our own liberation or oppression. As we commemorate his 87th birthday, I think it is fine to remember the dreamer. But if we want to truly honor him, we have to put action behind our dream. The answer to the question "Who are we?" has to be "We are the people who ended the AIDS epidemic."

In this issue, we are running the first of a number of articles we'll publish on HIV criminalization and stigma. First up, a piece by Rod McCullom on criminalization and Black gay men. We'll also help you understand the new health law. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius tells you what you need to take on your first trip to the doctor and our friends from AIDS.gov show how the Affordable Care Act impacts people living with HIV. Please sign up for the Institute's next series of Brown Bag Lunches, intended to help you increase HIV literacy in your community. And we encourage you to set up a watch party and Twitter conversation with your friends during Alicia Key's "We Are Empowered" event for women on Sunday, January 19th at 8-9 pm Eastern/5-6 pm Pacific.

Fasten your seat belts, we are off to a fast start and we don't plan to slow down the entire year.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill