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LGBT Leaders Committed to Fighting HIV Among Black Gay Men

Washington, DC, October 30, 2007: Leaders of the LGBT equality and civil rights movement issued an urgent statement five days after gathering in Washington, DC, regarding continuing signs of the unabated impact of the HIV epidemic across the United States. The leaders are calling for a renewed effort to address the HIV epidemic and its devastating impact, especially in black gay communities. The gathering was convened by the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition and the National Coalition for LGBT Health.

"When the AIDS crisis began, the LGBT community came together with great force," said Darrel Cummings, Chief of Staff at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, a member of the National Coalition for LGBT Health's board of directors which led the call for the gathering. "But with the advent of effective treatments, the growth of organizations focused just on HIV, and as the epidemic has moved into communities of color, HIV has largely fallen off the agenda for the leading LGBT civil rights groups."

A 2005 study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in five major cities showed that 46% of black gay men had acquired HIV and that 67% of them were unaware of their HIV status. Surveillance data released by the New York City Health Department in September 2007 and other recent reports has heightened the concern of the leaders about the epidemic's continued impact, especially among black gay men.

"It is shameful that 25 years into the epidemic, the National Institutes of Health has not done the research and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not given us the tools to stop the impact of HIV in black gay communities," said Ernest Hopkins, Policy Committee Chair for the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition and director of federal affairs at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Of 129 interventions developed to address HIV in African Americans, only one has been designed or adapted for black gay men. Additionally, very little research has been conducted to determine the actual costs of high rates of HIV among black gay men in the United States. "Our communities cannot accept that our lives are not worth the effort to engage in the research, prevention and care necessary to improve our health and better our lives," the leaders' statement reads.

Other LGBT leadership organizations participating in the meeting and their representatives were: Arcus Foundation (Cindy Rizzo), Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Rashad Robinson), Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (Joel Ginsberg), Lambda Legal (Kevin Cathcart and Bebe Anderson), Log Cabin Republicans (Patrick Sammon), National Black Justice Coalition (Earl Plante), National Stonewall Democrats (Jon Hoadley) and the Task Force (Matt Foreman). Also participating in the meeting were Hutson Innis, a member of the National Coalition for LGBT Health's board of directors, Rudy Carn, chair of the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, and A. Cornelius Baker, National Policy Advisor for the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition.

A Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis Among African Americans

The Nation's leading public health authority recently responded to the burgeoning rates of HIV infection among Black people by calling for a heightened national response to the crisis among African Americans. This call has been made to "other federal agencies, public health leaders, African American community members and influential leaders." The 4 key focus areas that CDC will address over the next 18 months as part of this heightened response are: expanding the reach of prevention services; increasing opportunities for diagnosing and treating HIV; developing new, effective prevention interventions; and mobilizing broader community action. Click here to access articles and fact sheets about the heightened national response.

Rules For Clinical HIV Screening Loosened

California State assembly is closer to adopting AB682 a bill that would essentially loosen the restrictions that exist for doctors performing HIV screening. The hotly contested bill was designed according to opt-out standards recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. The legislation eliminates the need for written consent, beyond general consent for medical care, in clinical settings. Clinicians have been previously disinclined to offer HIV testing because of this cumbersome consent process. Click here to read more about AB682.