On Friday, about 200 inmates of a medium-security St. Louis jail lined up to be tested for HIV along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mayor Francis Slay, Health Department Commissioner Melba Moore, numerous clergy members and various elected officials. Jackson and the other dignitaries were being tested as part of an effort to erase the stigma attached to the process.

Sponsored by Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Community Wellness Project, the African-American AIDS Coalition and Alderperson Greg Carter, the event focused on inmates because HIV/AIDS incidence among them is five times higher than in society in general.

"The jails and prisons are the epicenter of the continuous growth of AIDS and HIV," Jackson said. "The most difficult part to overcome is the stigma and fear associated with taking the test."

The inmates who agreed to be tested, both men and women, represented about one-fifth of the jail's inmates. The Health Department tests prisoners weekly, and has found about 200 with the disease over the past 15 years.

Jackson's visit was his third trip to St. Louis to promote HIV testing. In September 2000, he visited the city twice to urge African-American ministers to be publicly tested for HIV. Since then, black clergy have begun to embrace efforts to eradicate the disease.

"Nobody can say that the clergy are not in a battle against this disease," said the Rev. Ronald Bobo. "We want to be examples of those who are trying to help those afflicted with AIDS."

Jackson is targeting African Americans because in recent years, HIV/AIDS has reached epidemic proportions among them.

"The No. 1 killer of African-American men ages 25 to 44 is not drive-by shootings," Jackson told the inmates. "It's not police profiling. It's HIV/AIDS."

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