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From SeeingBlack.com Family/Youth
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Blacks accounted for 49 percent of the new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in 2005. Statistics recorded during 2001 and 2004 report that of the 18,849 people under the age of 25 who are diagnosed, 61 percent are Black. The symposium, held on Mar. 27, featured free HIV testing by Howard’s student health center, vendors and exhibitors such as the Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Administration and STD Control Program and a keynote speech by activist Benjamin Chavis. The main attraction was a town hall meeting featuring seven panelists: 10-year AIDS survivor and activist, Maria Davis, actress and model Melyssa Ford, radio personality Jeannie Jones, hip-hop artist Jim Jones, R&B artist Lyfe Jennings, the Rev. Melvin Maxwell of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in D.C., Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis and Carla Stokes, president of HOT GIRLS, an organization dedicated to supporting Black girls. Davis told a capacity crowd in the Blackburn Center West Ballroom that the panelists were there to speak to everyone about empowering themselves. “I never thought I would have HIV,” she said, offering the audience her personal story of devastation and perseverance—from contracting the virus from a man in Jamaica to her current work as an activist. “In the beginning it was a gay man’s disease. That’s the lie that was told to us. “They should have told us to get tested, don’t sleep with anyone unless you know who that person is,” Davis added. “We in a whole ‘nother time. You can’t just sleep with everyone hap-hazardly anymore, because even if the condom breaks, guess what, you’re sleeping with everyone that individual has slept with.” She also emphasized to the audience that it was everyone’s responsibility to be leaders and start talking about HIV everyday, because only then will the virus diminish. “I don’t know why we afraid to talk about HIV,” she said. “We’ll talk about everything else but we won’t talk about HIV and AIDS.” Jeannie Jones chined in, adding, “With all the information we have out here—promos, events that we produce on television and radio—we’re still not getting it because we’re dying and we don’t have to.” Maxwell, who is minister to men, youth, and outreach at his church, said that an underlying reason behind the high causes of HIV and AIDS is low self-esteem among young adults and children. “It’s critical that we know self-esteem--low self-esteem—-is one of the issues that’s causing it,” he said. “Two-thirds of our children don’t have a father in the home. So maybe our young girls are trying to find love because they haven’t experienced love in the home.” He also added that “Black men need to stand up and take responsibility. We have sexuality without responsibility.” The panelists discussed various issues, among them, was the question of whether celebrities are responsible for the negative actions young people commit. Stokes said that through her work with teenage girls, she can confirm that “young people are influenced by what they hear [and see on TV].” However, she added, “HIV and AIDS is a much larger issue. It’s not just hip-hop; you can’t look to hip-hop artists and musicians to prevent HIV and AIDS.” Symposium founder and chair Joshua Wright said that the symposium was very successful, with 168 students getting tested for HIV. “We had a good turnout for the keynote address and a great turnout for the town hall meeting,” he said. The idea for the Hip Hop and Higher Education Symposium was devised in 2005, and the first event was held in 2006. “The symposium was designed to be a forum for dialogue between students and people within the Hip-Hop industry and community,” said Wright. Issues that past symposiums have focused on include the portrayal of Black men in hip-hop culture, business skills for people trying to get into the industry, the portrayal of Black women in hip-hop, and the role of hip-hop in the classroom. “[The first symposium was] very important because we developed three hip-hop courses at Howard since then,” Wright said. For this year’s symposium, Wright said that the idea to focus on AIDS and HIV stemmed from the symposium’s past work of discussing hip-hop and sex. He said that during the discussions on sex in hip-hop culture, the consequences of promiscuous behavior were hardly discussed; therefore, he felt it was necessary to focus on public health. “Nobody really talks about [AIDS] unless it’s World AIDS Day in December or National Black AIDS Day in February,” he said. Organizers of the third symposium included Howard’s student health center, Howard’s Department of Afro-American Studies, the student organization Endustry Power Players, local radio station WKYS, BET’s Rap-It-Up, Sony BMG, and others outside of Howard’s campus. Wright did not disclose much information on the plans for next year’s symposium because it is “too early” to tell, but he intends to “try and make it bigger” and there is a strong possibility that the symposium will stay within the focus of public health. © Copyright by SeeingBlack.com |
