AIDS, and the Conspiracy Theory

African Americans, AIDS, and the Conspiracy Theory

HIV/AIDS began as a government conspiracy. Is this true? Recent polls from The Rand Corporation and Oregon State University showed:

27% percent of African-Americans believe the government invented the HIV virus.
12% said the CIA created the disease.
15% said the disease was invented to wipe out the black community.
“Many persons just want to believe myths and refuse to accept the work that needs to be done by all of us,'' says Mark Douglas, Executive Director of My Brothaz Home, an AIDS organization in Savannah, Georgia. To be clear, HIV/AIDS is not handed down from the government.

Whether you think the conspiracy is true or not, however, that does not give anyone the right to be irresponsible and spread the disease. HIV/AIDS can destroy people’s lives.


A Dishonest History - An Uncertain Future

African Americans have good reason to believe the conspiracy theories. Between 1932 and 1972, the US government tested the effects of the deadly sexually transmitted disease syphilis on African-Americans. They pretended to treat people with the disease, but they didn’t give them real medicine.

Wherever HIV/AIDS came from doesn’t matter at this point – the disease is here to stay and there’s no cure. Right now, African-American women are getting HIV/AIDS faster and in greater numbers than anyone else.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, black women and Latinas made up 85% of new people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2003. It’s the leading cause of death for black women between the ages of 25 and 44. And black women get HIV/AIDS five times more than Latinas.

And it’s not just African-American women. In 2003, about 50% of all people diagnosed with AIDS in 2003 were African-American, even though they only represent 13% of the US population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the Census Bureau. The question is: Why do so many African-Americans have HIV/AIDS?

Black Women, AIDS, and the Bedroom

Black women get HIV/AIDS just like black men do: from unprotected sex and IV drug use.
But there's another reason the infection rates are on the rise.

"Black women love so hard," says Jackie Jordan, a 34-year old, HIV-positive black woman. “We care for everyone except ourselves. We put our health on the back shelf to make our men and families happy.”

This includes not asking about her partner’s sexual history and not demanding that her partner wear condoms. “A woman may become dependent on a man and won’t make him wear a condom,” Jackie adds. “She might be afraid to do anything that she thinks might make her man leave her.”

Rape, domestic violence, lack of education, and low self-esteem also make it hard for women – especially many African-American women – to protect themselves.

Health Care, Poverty, and HIV/AIDS

According to MSNBC, black women with HIV/AIDS are more likely to be poor and unemployed. If someone doesn’t have a job and doesn’t have money, they probably don’t have health insurance. This means they’re not getting tested and treated for a number of things, including HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS treatment is expensive, but there are lots of organizations across the country that can help people pay for medications. Medicaid and Medicare often cover treatment too. Most people can’t afford HIV/AIDS drugs, but that’s no reason not to get tested.

The Down Low: Gay and Bisexual Black Men

In recent years, reports have shown more African-American women are getting infected by men who secretly have sex with men without telling them. This is called “the down low.”

A lot of gay and bisexual African-American men keep their sexual behavior a secret, largely because many in African-American communities look down on homosexuality. But recent reports usually use the down low as the main reason for the rising infection rates among black women.

According to Dr. David Malebranche of Emory University Medical School, “We distort the truth about HIV/AIDS in the Black community to divert our attention from the real “down-low” issues of oppression, racism, low self-esteem, sexual abuse, substance abuse, joblessness, hopelessness, and despair.”

Prison and HIV/AIDS Rates

The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in prisons is five times higher than the national average. And the number of African Americans in prison is also high, compared to the number of African Americans in the country.

Drug use and unprotected sex – whether it’s forced or not – helps spread the disease very quickly in prisons. It’s illegal for condoms to be distributed in prisons, so men who get infected and get released go back to the women waiting at home and often infect them too.

Protect Your Body, Control Your Destiny

All people must decide for themselves whether their life is worth protecting – every time they wear a condom and every time they have unprotected sex. Using protection and living a healthy lifestyle is the best way to prove that no one – and no disease – can hold African Americans down.

http://www.thebeehive.org/health/articles/aids-african-americans.asp