Hot-Button Issues

Roundtable Discussions | Special Reports

Roundtable Discussions

In order to dig deeper into the HIV-related issues that affect African Americans, read these roundtable discussions with HIV experts from around the world.

The Rising Rates of HIV Among Black and Latino Men: What's Going On?
In an exclusive, roundtable discussion, Kenyon Farrow -- activist and journalist -- sat down with Vaughn Taylor-Akutagawa, Deputy Executive Director of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD); Sheldon Fields, an associate professor of nursing at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in the School of Nursing; and Francisco Roque, the Director of Community Health at Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), to discuss what is being done right, what is going terribly wrong and what is being overlooked in terms of HIV/AIDS prevention, education, treatment and testing for MSM.

The Rising HIV Rates Among Young Women and Girls of Color: What's Going On?
In this exclusive roundtable interview, our news editor, Kellee Terrell, sat down with Tracie Gardner, Founder of the Women's Initiative to Stop HIV/AIDS NY; Jennifer Irwin, Deputy Executive Director at Health and Education Alternatives for Teens; and Claire Simon, Co-Director of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition, to discuss the pressing issues that are increasing HIV risk among young girls and women of color.

Special Reports

TheBody.com takes an in-depth look at issues affecting African Americans and people of the African Diaspora living with HIV.

	Is AIDS in Black America More About Behavior or Institutional Factors? African Americans report less risky behavior than other groups, yet are still most heavily impacted by HIV. Why, then, are solutions that address factors other than behavior -- factors like institutionalized inequality -- often met with resistance? Kellee Terrell responds to one of the epidemic's most vexing questions.
	HIV/AIDS in Black America: The Uphill Battle Black Americans account for only 14 percent of the U.S. population, yet they account for 52 percent of all new HIV infections each year. It's official: Regardless of race, we can no longer afford to be in denial and believe that HIV is a white gay disease. And while the statistics are daunting, that doesn't mean that the battle cannot be won. We have to collectively educate ourselves about the disease, get tested to know our status and take control of our health. Who's ready to fight back?
	HIV Frontlines: HIV/AIDS and Homophobia in Jamaica To address the violent homophobia and the rising HIV/AIDS rates in Jamaica, The Body sat down with Jamaican poet Kwame Dawes who created "Hope: Living and Loving With HIV in Jamaica", a multimedia project that explored how HIV/AIDS has shaped the lives of so many people on the island. Also joining the conversation is Nancy Mahon, the Senior Vice President at MAC Cosmetics and executive director of the MAC AIDS Fund, which has provided over $145 million to help people around the world affected by HIV/AIDS.
	Preparing for PrEP, Part 1: What Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Could Mean for Black Gay and Bi Men Since the results of the iPrEx clinical trials were released last November, it seems like pre-exposure prophaylaxis (PrEP) has been on everyone's mind. Especially for those who wonder how it will be implemented for the number one risk group in the United States: African American men who have sex with men. In the first of this two-part series, The Black AIDS Institute discusses PrEP's relevance to the gay black community.
	The Culture War in the Black HIV/AIDS Movement Is Hurting Us All In this op-ed, TheBody.com's news editor, Kellee Terrell, brings to light the homophobia and ignorance that some black HIV/AIDS leaders still possess some 30 years into the HIV epidemic. She believes that these ideologies stunt progress, instead of shepherding the community forward.