In This Issue

There have been so many things going on the last few weeks that I don't know where to start. As you know if you've been following the Black AIDS Weekly, we just spent a week at the 21st International AIDS Conference. And no matter how informative, no matter how exciting, no matter how inspirational the Conference was, a conference is not a cure, a conference is not treatment, and a conference in and of itself is not prevention. No matter what happened in Durban last week, what really matters is what we do this week. And how we take the information that we gained, the insights that we found—whether we were present in the halls or we received the information by watching webinars or reading news accounts—and the ways in which we apply what we now know is what this is all about.

At the Black AIDS Institute, we are turning our attention to post-conference updates. Even though there were nearly 15,000 people in Durban, very few Black Americans were able to attend. So over the next six months, we're going to make sure that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, we're going to bring that experience to you through monthly webinars and local updates in up to 12 cities. Please look at the Events calendar in this issue and moving forward to find the city nearest you.

On other fronts, HIV and AIDS does not happen in a vacuum. Indeed, policy and elections have consequences—often dramatic consequences—to poor people, to people of color, especially Black people and people living with or at risk for HIV and AIDS. Last week, the Republican Party held their national convention. They told you their vision of America. They told you how important Black people are to them by how many Black people were delegates at the convention; by how often they talked about improving education for Black people; by how specific they were on how they plan to revitalize Black communities, increase attendance of Black students at colleges and universities, reduce the unemployment rate for Black Americans or raise the minimum wage. This week the Democratic Party is holding their national convention. They will present their vision for America, including their vision for Black America. Make sure that you tune in and make sure every single day you ask yourself, "Does their vision include me?" Is it a vision that speaks directly to the 50 percent unemployment of Black teenagers in America? Is it a vision that speaks to the epidemic of unarmed Black men and women being killed by policemen? Is it a vision that talks about reform in our penal system? It is a vision that explicitly lays out a plan to address HIV and AIDS in America?

Who has a vision for an inclusive America and who gets villainized and who gets excluded? In whose America do Black lives matter?

Maya Angelou says, when someone tells you who they are, believe them. Our country is probably at the most dramatic turning point in our history. The next president of the United States will make many decisions that will impact our lives. This is no time to be passive; to be a bystander; to be observer. Decide which candidate for the presidency of the United States has a vision that most closely aligns with your vision of America. It is highly unlikely that either of the presidential candidates will have a vision that will match your vision exactly. But elections are not about choices between a candidate and perfection; the choices are between a candidate and the alternative. And when we find the candidate that has a vision, a desire, a track record for ending the AIDS epidemic, whoever that candidate is, we have an obligation to work like hell to make sure that on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, that candidate becomes the next president-elect of the United States.

We are going to be spending the next four months asking each of the candidates what are they going to do to end the AIDS epidemic. What are they going to do end the structural determinants of health that exacerbate the epidemic? What is their plan to respond to stigma, discrimination and bigotry? This year, we have to be active players. We need to participate as if our lives depend upon it, because our lives actually do.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill