Last night Frontline premiered the documentary, Endgame: AIDS in Black America, looking at the increasing amount of African Americans living with this disease.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s now estimated that although African Americans only account for 14 percent of the U.S. population, as of 2009, we accounted for 44 percent more cases of HIV.
This year the 19th International AIDS Conference will be held in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., the first time it has been in the US in over 20 years.
It seems fitting, since last year HIV/AIDS was more prevalent in Washington D.C than in some African countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, and the Congo. A staggering statistic.
Though the topic of HIV & AIDS is often a hard one to discuss, documentaries like this help shed light on this growing epidemic, and what we need to do to reach the “endgame.”
If you missed the premier on PBS last night, watch it in its entirety here.
Endgame was so difficult to watch but it was necessary and long overdue.
@Crys: Agreed. It was so scary. I’m hopeful though with Obama in office we’ll get this disease under wraps. I loved the articulate women of color throughout the film.
It’s not up to Obama to fix the situation. It’s up to us. Most of us have heard the statistics yet we continue with the same high risk behaviors. You can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make it drink.
*We accounted for 44% more cases of HIV*?
What does this even mean. I did not watch the program so I can not comment on it. But according to the CDC, 70%,a little more or a little less, of the people living with HIV/AIDS are men. Are most of these men Black? That I find hard to believe since they are a small part of the male group not to mention, homosexual group. On the other side, you have the women. Are the numbers for Black women larger than for all women combined? Really? How come no one, NAACP, etc question these numbers. I ask because I saw in the NY Daily News the statement that Black Americans account for half of HIV cases. Is this blanket statement even true?
I am not saying Black Americans are not affected, but I find the numbers and these statements problematic, to say the least.
@d- I think you are misreading or misinterpreting the statistics. In 2009 African Americans accounted for 44% of all NEW HIV cases, not HIV cases overall. The statistic is staggering because African Americans only account for 14% of the total population in the country. The statistics also state that black men accounted for 70% of all NEW HIV cases in that same year, and accordingly, black women accounted for 30% of the NEW HIV cases in that year, for a total of 100% of all new cases. The new cases of HIV for black women is 15 times higher than that of white women. Which means black women are contracting the disease at a much higher rate than their counterparts, which is not surprising based on the number of black men with the disease.
I also agree that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with President Obama. AIDS is 30 years old. Obama was a pimply-faced teenager when the AIDS epidemic began. This country (through Pres. George W. Bush) gave 15 billion dollars in money to African and the Caribbean, and how much of that was dedicated to eradicating AIDS right in Washington D.C’s backyard? It is not the job of any one politician to get rid of AIDS. This is a problem of ignorance and lack of resources in the black community. We don’t need a president to tell us how to stop AIDS, the education has been out for nearly 2 decades.
The rate at which the black community is infecting themselves compared to whites and other minorities is sickening. We are killing ourselves. Much like the crack outbreak in the 80’s and 90’s, blacks didn’t bring the problem into the community, but we sure as hell aren’t doing our part to get it under control and keep it out.
A lot of black people have AIDS/HIV. Just know if you have sex w/ a black man unprotected…u r at a greater risk. Hope this helps.
Thanks @TJ
But I still find the numbers problematic. Blacks accounted for 100% of new HIV cases. REALLY? Does that seem right to you? Are Blacks the only ones having sex?
I dont know anyone with HIV(at least they havent told me) and Im celibate and have been tested, so Im having a hard time believing???/wrapping my head around this. Its funny because on Clutch, someone made a comment about going to a CDC conference, where one of the slides said that White women were the fastest growing group contracting HIV. Dont know what to think. Where is the NAACP/Black womens groups to tell us the really real.
Still protect yourselves and trust no one with your health.