HIV Prevention Programs in U.S. Target Black Audiences

Across the United States on Tuesday, thousands of people participated in activities marking National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Launched six years ago, the awareness day seeks to call attention to the epidemic's disproportionate impact on African-Americans and to convince blacks to access testing and treatment.

Organizations across the country held outreach events, including a Safer Sex Comedy Show in New York City and candlelight vigils from California to Florida, specifically tailored to reach black audiences. In Chicago, college students gathered at Roosevelt University to hear a free performance by the rapper Twista, acquire information and get tested for HIV.

The Los Angeles-based Minority AIDS Project (MAP) takes the safe-sex message to black women in beauty salons, shopping centers, laundromats and universities. "They're not going to come to you," said Carolynn Martin, a MAP client services program manager.

Advocates say one roadblock to awareness is that many blacks still see HIV as something that happens to other people. Said Martin: "We don't see movies about the poor black girl who got infected by her significant other." That lack of awareness means that many African Americans are unlikely to get tested.

At its outset 25 years ago, New York's Gay Men's Health Crisis mostly served gay white men. Today, more than 70 percent of its clients are people of color, said Robert Bank, associate executive director for programs and operations.

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