HIV...you want it?

No? You sure? So why is it that AIDS continues to spreat at an alarming rate, especially in the black community? Coined by Jay-z "men lie, women lie, numbers don't," these numbers tell it all: African American women comprise 72 % of all new HIV cases; every 35 minutes a women is diagnosed. AIDS in the NUMBER ONE killer of African American women between the ages 25-34. Black Men account for 65% of new cases among all blacks while African Americans make up 50% of new diagnoses. Scary Right?

Its obviously not enough to be scared because these statistics continually increase. We have to stop being scared to speak up and educate our people out of fear because fear is killing us. AIDS is alive, thriving and preying on our community. The rate of HIV/AIDS in our nation's capital, Washington D.C. rivals that of some developing nations. And some still believe that only gay people can be diagnosed with HIV. Yes the Down Low in the black community is still running rampant but the sad thing is these black men don't consider themselves gay and still sleep with women, further passing this disease along. Heterosexual contact follows close behind with intravenous drug use, then male-to-male intravenous drug use trailing.

The H in HIV stands for Human which means this is a humans disease and any part of the body that breaths is susceptible.  We have to make education a priority so we can silence this deadly killer. In honor of World AIDS day, do yourself a favor and get tested today. Being knowledgable is sexy; ignorant is not...who's with me?