Haitian- and African-American Groups Pull Together to Combat AIDS in Miami
Haitian Women of Miami Inc., a group that has won national acclaim for its efforts to elevate the status of Haitian-American women, has joined forces with several African-American groups and the Dade Community Foundation to form Miamians Working Together, a coalition that hopes to devise strategies to fight HIV/AIDS in the Miami area, the Miami Herald reports. Eight women and five men will work together on ways to combat HIV/AIDS among the region's black community. About 7,200 blacks in the Miami-Dade area have died of AIDS-related causes since the epidemic began two decades ago, according to the Miami-Dade Health Department. However, before the two groups can begin to address HIV/AIDS, they must come to a cultural understanding. "Sitting down and working together will increase understanding and bridge the cultural gap between the two groups. If we work together for a common cause, we will see positive results. The impact will be enormous," Marleine Bastien, founder and executive director of Haitian Women of Miami Inc., explained. According to the Herald, relations between Miami's black ethnic groups have been "problematic" because of cultural and language-related barriers, but the new group could "bridge the longstanding gap" (Robinson, Miami Herald, 3/8).
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