New York: Raising Awareness of HIV/AIDS

The Buffalo Chapter of the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS recently held "A Day of Prayer," a three-hour event at True Bethel Baptist Church designed to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. The disease is a having a devastating and disproportionate impact on African Americans, speakers told the 75 or so people who attended.

People have become complacent about HIV/AIDS at the same time medical advances have helped patients live longer with the disease, speakers noted. "I'd say about 10 or 15 years ago, people were dying so rapidly [from HIV/AIDS] that the community became alarmed. Now people think, 'If I get it, I can live with it,'" said the Rev. James A. Lewis III, pastor of Miracle Missions Full Gospel Church, which currently meets at True Bethel.

"We need to keep [HIV/AIDS] in the forefront for people," said Lewis, who also chairs the Buffalo affiliate of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. "It's a shame people are so laid back," he said, noting he has recently presided over the funerals of three people who died from the disease.

Merry Cherry attended the event to support her sister, a featured speaker. Her church, Zion Dominion, held an AIDS testing workshop about five years ago, she said. "We need to be aware. We have to help young people and old people understand" the risks, she said.

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