Today I attended a panel presented by Iced Media and TheLoop21.com as part of Internet Week NY discussing how to best utilize the power of the Internet for HIV/AIDS prevention and education in the African-American community. "Stop Black AIDS" is the theme of their new campaign to bring awareness to the vast disparities among African-Americans and the rest of the country, and to help eliminate the stigma attached to this disease.
I have my own admitted "conspiracy theories" about HIV/AIDS because of political, economic and social implications and payoffs (for some) of this as a worldwide epidemic. I will refrain from ranting about my distrust of Big Pharma and their role in the spread and "maintenance" of the disease because the issue for me is more about injustice than anything else.
With that said, much of the discussion turned to issues of stigma and silence within the Black community. We don't like to talk about sex. More often than not, young African-Americans aren't receiving information from their parents, schools or churches about sexual health at all, except "don't do it." When it comes to AIDS, we are even more silent. "Why?" is the $64,000 question.
Part of the stigma around AIDS in particular is that it's a gay disease and unfortunately, Black folks are good for being homophobic. Just think about the popular saying, "pause". "Pause" is used when someone makes a comment that has homosexual undertones, or if a man says another man is attractive, or basically when any remotely homosexual situation occurs. I don't know the origins but here and now, it's a proclamation of heterosexuality, an assertion that one doesn't want to be associated with anything gay. With that mentality and language (which creates our reality), how can we candidly talk about this sexually transmitted disease that conjures up images of homosexuality? Have we not gotten the memo that HIV/AIDS is NOT a gay disease?
Listening to this discussion helped me realize that if we are to tackle this, we need to address our rampant homophobia. Think about the "down low" categorization (also known as MSM, men who have sex with men). My first job was at an HIV/AIDS facility in Harlem and it was hard for me to wrap my head around this concept. "Aren't they just gay?" I asked. However, these men don't consider themselves gay...they just have sexual relations with men. Get it? Semantics, right? Not quite. Many of these men also engage in heterosexual relationships and don't disclose their same-sex activities to their female partners. Now before you blame MSM, us women aren't creating safe spaces for these men to be honest about their sexuality. Most women would be appalled if their man told them that they have been with a man before. So if that's the case, how can we expect honesty when talking about sexual health in the context of HIV/AIDs and STIs in general?
This issue also came up in reference to the church, a trusted resource in the Black community. There you have a conflict of Bible-ordained abstinence vs. the reality that we are sexual beings. A bit of a mindfuck? One undeniable result is high STI and HIV/AIDS rates among African-Americans. Terrence Dean quoted T.D. Jakes's observation, "The churches don't know what to say because there's no verse in the Bible that addresses AIDS." More progressive Black churches have stepped into the 21st century and are responding to the epidemic because they can no longer ignore the direct effects in their communities. Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is at the forefront of this movement with their National Black Church initiative, supporting African-American clergy who want to bring sexual and reproductive health issues to their congregations. Hopefully there will be a domino effect and religious leaders will make the linkages between scripture and reality.
Another question is how do we mobilize offline? Part of the ongoing debate about the Internet is if we are really being politically active. We've seen President Obama win the election largely because of his web-savvy, but we also have an endless universe of Internet petitions and sounding boards. But is that translating into change and concrete action? Chuck Creekmur made a key point about how the White gay community was able to unite and organize and deflect HIV/AIDS as a gay disease. He points out that we need to study their movement and draw from their successes and learn from their challenges. This hits the nail on the head; we must learn from other social and cultural movements, and our own history of resistance, to flip the script and change the dialogue.
On this note, Dr. K. Aletha Maybank emphasized the importance of us being politically active and pushing for policy change. I believe this election has shown that African-Americans are a viable voting bloc. Politicians are going to serve the voters; that's how they keep their job. We can't expect our demands to be heard if we aren't showing up at at the ballet box, or writing letters, or making phone calls. But now that we have an ally and a brother in the White House, the time is ripe for us to speak up for housing, health care and civil rights for Blacks, and everyone, with HIV/AIDS. We also need to take our local leaders to task when we see injustices in our own neighborhoods.
In (not so) short, there seems to be a consensus that there is power in discussion. For us, talking openly about this issue is a big step. Discussions of sex, sexuality, and sexual health must take place on all fronts. I believe this is how we heal. Within our families, to our children, online, in the media, in churches and social organizations...wherever we have a platform, we should use it. Just breaking the silence can save lives and ourselves.
Watch the panel and make your own conclusions...but most of all, use your voice, and your fingers (by typing, dirty minds), to keep this discussion alive in our on- and offline communities.
An added bonus:
Listen to Esther Armah, hostess of WBAI 99.5 FM's Wake Up Call, interview Darrell Williams, Founder of TheLoop21.com, and Sony Lockett, BET's VP of Public Affairs and director of the Rap It Up campaign.
Moderator: Mike Muse, CEO Muse Recordings, and amazing Obama fundraiser
Panelists:
Kenya Byrd (Essence)
Terrance Dean (Speaker, Author, and Educator)
Angela Yee (Lip Service/Shade 45)
K. Aletha Maybank MD MPH (Asst/ Commissioner, NYC Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene)
Sonya Lockett (BET Rap it Up)
Chuck Creekmur (AllHipHop.com)
Blogxilla (Blogxilla.com/Global Grind)
Thanks to Sherry Biting for inviting me to this event!
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