On the eve of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dixon called on Pittsburgh's minority community, particularly African Americans, to educate themselves about the disease.

"We continue to see disproportionate numbers in our minority populations," Dixon said. "The incidence of new cases is up in the range of two and one-half to three times the general makeup of the minority population. Fourteen percent of the population in general is minorities. The number of new cases is between 35 and 40 percent minorities."

Those figures mirror the national picture. According to CDC, blacks represent 13 percent of the population but account for around half of all people newly diagnosed with HIV each year. In 2005, the rate of HIV diagnosis among African-American males was almost seven times that of white men. Black women had an HIV diagnosis rate more than 20 times that of their white counterparts.

To mark today's event, the Southwestern PA AIDS Planning Coalition will hold a dinner with a speech by Bishop Joyce Turner-Keller at Central Outreach Center, 1860 Centre Ave. Turner-Keller is the founder of Aspirations, a Baton Rouge, La.-based nonprofit that offers HIV and other STD testing along with related services for people with HIV.

The theme of Turner-Keller's speech at the event, for which no seats remain, will be "prevention is power." Organizers hope attendees will share what they learn, educate teens about HIV prevention, and enlist the support of their churches in the fight against the epidemic.

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