Agonizing Urban AIDS Crisis

Williams addressed the "alarming rate" of new HIV infections among young gay black men and other urban dwellers. The high infection rate among black men "may be linked to the fact that early educational efforts regarding HIV targeted specific high-risk groups -- like intravenous drug users and homosexual men -- that are particularly taboo in the black community," he said. "HIV continues to be spoken of in shameful whispers in the urban community. Consequently, people already infected with the disease are hesitant to seek medical care amid a community that regards HIV -- and homosexuality -- with equal doses of fear and rejection. ...Too afraid and ashamed to deal with their own homosexuality, many young black men live a double life" and even refuse to "acknowledge they are engaging in risky sexual behavior, inviting disaster," Williams wrote.

"The implications are disastrous not just for the infected, but for throngs of orphans this scourge threatens to leave in its wake. ...This influx of orphans will sew child-welfare problems into this country's social structure for decades to come. ...Just as they are beginning to discover their world, they will be forced to watch their parents die. ...Couple this trauma with the absence of an emotionally secure environment and a decent education, and one begins to see how this disease threatens to bind and suffocate even the survivors. ...Once deprived of economic security, education and a parent's love, a means of stemming the disease might follow. For, without education, there will be little enlightenment, and even less understanding of how to make the problem better."

Williams concluded, "With the rising rate of HIV infection, an entire generation of urban dwellers will be forced to confront these issues at an earlier age. It will be difficult for this generation of orphans to be introspective about their health, when they are struggling to feed themselves. And so the cycle threatens to continue, endlessly and senselessly."

Back to other CDC news for June 11, 2001

Previous Updates | Search the CDC archive