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Defeating AIDS Is a Civil Rights Issue

Published

11 years ago

January 21, 2014

AIDS is a civil rights issue. While statistics show that most HIV testing is done in healthcare settings, health agencies have been trying for many years to figure out how to test in public venues – to reach out to the communities that are most impacted.

However, those African Americans and Latino communities, those who are hardest hit the HIV/AIDS epidemic, seem hesitant to test in public venues.

The latest example: of the thousands of celebrants who turned out Monday at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, only nine people were tested for HIV/AIDS.

African Americans have the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. Compared with other races and ethnicities, they account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of the disease, from new infections to deaths.

Moreover, a number of challenges contribute to the epidemic in Black communities, including poverty, injection drug use, drug addiction, mental illness, limited access to health care, cultural barriers in health care.

< p>But at health events where HIV/AIDS testing is being offered, testers find after 33 years, stigma is still the largest barrier that stops people from testing.

To date, over 230,000 African Americans have died of AIDS related illnesses, nearly 40 percent of total deaths and of the more than one million people living with HIV, almost half are Black, and yet as a racial group, African Americans represent just 14 percent of the U.S. population.

Young African American gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are especially at risk of HIV infection. New HIV infections among African American women decreased for the first time in 2010.

Blue Williams, program Manager for the DREAM Project (Determined to Respect and Encourage African American Men), a program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, has been a certified tester since 2005.

Williams was one of the testers Monday and also was one of the testers at last year’s event.

“The number of people testing was just slightly higher last year, but having nine people getting to know their status is something to celebrate,” he said. “Large events seem to be daunting places to test. A lot of people are here, surrounded by friends or family feel embarrassed, have fear to get tested, or some just feel they are not at risk.

A 2009 survey by the Kaiser Foundation reported a fifth of Black Americans cite HIV/AIDS as the most urgent problem facing the U.S. In another survey, four fifths of African Americans believed that government spending on the disease domestically was insufficient.

The report said African Americans were the most aware about transmission routes, were the most likely to have been tested, were the most likely to say they knew someone who was living with HIV or had died of AIDS, and were the ethnic group that reported experiencing the highest levels of stigma.

Scottie Warren, a case manager for Volunteers of America in Oakland, was a tester at last year’s Art and Soul festival in Oakland, said that during the two-day event, his agency tested over 50 people, and there were three other agencies testing people as well.

Warren says he finds success with his personality, putting them at ease while conveying confidence in his knowledge, but ultimately getting them to see that testing is not a moral judgment or moral indicator, but a health decision.

He also notes that persons of color, including the Latino community that face the same issues and are the second largest population hit.

“People of color tend to test more at events if there is some type of handout, some incentive,” he said.

According to Civil Rights leader and former NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, the importance of testing cannot be overrated.

“It’s sometimes daunting to want to take on something else, but nothing less, we just have to do it,” he said “We must accept responsibility for the growing epidemic and make HIV/AIDS education and prevention a priority.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

1 day ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.