House Passes Lee Resolution Supporting National Black AIDS Awareness Day
(Washington, DC) – Today, by a vote of 396-0, the House of Representatives approved a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) to recognize and support the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which is this Wednesday, February 7th.
“Twenty-five years after the first cases of AIDS were reported, HIV is still running rampant in the United States, and it is African Americans who are bearing the brunt of this resurging epidemic,” said Lee. “Unfortunately, today to be black is to be at greater risk of HIV/AIDS. As Members of Congress we have a responsibility to change that. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and making stopping the spread of this global pandemic a priority at home and abroad.”
Lee’s resolution, H. Con. Res. 35, is designed to recognize and support the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and encourage state and local governments, public health agencies and the media to emphasize and publicize the importance of this day among the African American community, and all communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, African Americans accounted for almost half of all new HIV infections in 2005.
All told, African American’s represent 42 percent of all people currently living with HIV/AIDS, despite only representing 12.3 percent of the population (according to the 2000 Census). Even worse, are the statistics for African American women, who accounted for 66 percent of all new HIV/AIDS cases among women in 2005, and were 25 times more likely to be infected than white women.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was created in 2001 by a coalition of five national non-profit organizations to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among the African American community. Recognized each year on February 7th, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day encourages African Americans and all Americans to “Get Educated, Get Involved, and Get Tested”.
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