Florida: "Sistas" Spread AIDS Message

The Sistas Organizing to Survive (SOS) gathered on Saturday at Orlando's Plaza Theatre to mark one year of sounding the alarm about HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. The more than 50 women who attended heard a renewed call for prevention, testing, and treatment.

Even though AIDS has been a leading cause of death for Florida black women ages 25 to 44 for the last 15 years, "It hasn't hit home how big the issue is," said Linda Bailey, a member of the SOS advisory council. Debbie Tucci, HIV/AIDS program coordinator for the Orange County Health Department, said one in 68 black women in the state is now living with HIV.

"There's fear in the health system and there's fear in the government," said Dr. Kevin Sherin, the Orange County Health Department's director. Some of the cause for that distrust is the legacy of the notorious Tuskegee experiment, in which researchers deliberately withheld treatment from syphilis-infected black men, Sherin said.

During the rally, SOS members performed in dramatic skits designed to point out how HIV can spread. These included the story of a faithful woman infected by her boyfriend and a promiscuous young woman who fears being tested for HIV.

Back to other news for June 2009

Search the Newsroom archive