Portland, OR | November 23, 2015

If we are going to change the stigma of HIV, we have to stop living it. The African-American community has a history of avoiding or delaying healthcare for various reasons. Some of the concerns go back to the Tuskegee experiments in which hundreds of black men, for 40 years, were intentionally infected with Syphilis to allow the government to study the natural progression of the disease while untreated. Other habits are instilled in black youth inadvertently by our parents who only take us to the doctor in emergency situations. We are conditioned to wait and see due to fears and in many times our socioeconomic status. I fear the same mentality we developed to save us is now killing us.

When dealing with HIV, cancer, and other potentially lethal illnesses, early detection is imperative. Infection rates among the black communities are steadily on the rise because we are becoming infected and infecting others due to our barriers to the health care system. These barriers are part of a stigma in the community that dictates how we obtain health care and what information we share with our health care providers. Our doctors can’t help if we are not forthcoming with our real lives; however, we can’t be forthcoming with our real lives until we have the faith in our doctors that we can speak without judgment and/or shame.

As the greatest affected community, we have the power to begin to eradicate this disease, but it comes at a price. We must be willing to not only engage in preventative health care services but also show our younger generation how to properly access and use medical treatment. We must begin to evolve mentally and understand the dealings of the past are no longer ethically or legally tolerable. We need to educate ourselves on prevention as well as maintenance if we become infected with HIV. By getting tested, using protection, and educating ourselves and our neighbors, we can take a greater responsibility and begin to heal our communities one at a time. We no longer have to die of AIDS when we now have the tools to live productive lives with HIV.