CBS’ ‘Evening News’ Examines HIV/AIDS Among Blacks in U.S.
CBS' "Evening News"on Thursday examined HIV/AIDS among blacks living in the U.S. According to CDC, blacks accounted for 49% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2006, despite making up only 13% of the population. In addition, 69% of AIDS cases among those ages 13 to 19 and 56% among those ages 20 to 24 are black, the "Evening News" reports.
"No matter how you look at it through the lens of gender or sexual orientation or age or socioeconomic class or level of education or region of the country where you live, black folks bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic in this country," Phill Wilson, founder of the Black AIDS Institute, said. Wilson added that early HIV/AIDS advocates did not send the right HIV prevention and education messages to the black community. "The mischaracterization of the epidemic in the early days ... made black folks think we didn't have to pay attention to the disease," Wilson said.
According to the "Evening News," many advocates are saying that presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are not doing enough to address HIV/AIDS. In addition, many advocates are upset that the candidates have said more about addressing HIV/AIDS in Africa, rather than in the black community in the U.S. The segment also includes comments from Ida Blyther-Smith, who runs an HIV/AIDS community outreach program in Chicago (Pinkston, "Evening News," CBS, 7/24).