Ending HIV/AIDS requires a Movement to end Oppression and Marginalization

It is estimated that 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS.  And of those Americans living with HIV/AIDS today, almost half are African American.  In fact, Black Americans account for more new HIV infections a year, more AIDS diagnoses, and more HIV-related deaths than any other racial group in the US. 

Thirty years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic and not only have we not defeated HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, we have done very little to eliminate the realities that put people at risk for HIV infection.  In the United States these realities are marginalization and oppression.  I am not suggesting that various forms of oppression cause HIV, because it is clear that risky behaviors, such as unprotected sex and injected drug use are the main drivers of HIV infection in the US.  But I am suggesting that marginalization and oppression create the conditions that fuel our HIV/AIDS epidemic.

HIV/AIDS has always been and continues to be a disease that impacts people and communities that are greatly marginalized in our society, whether they be men who sex with men, or injected drug users.  Or, as the recent statistics illustrate Black Americans.  In the case of Black Americans there is no question that oppression, in the form of racism and the marginalization of gay and bisexual men in all communities, in the form of homophobia, has led them to being disproportionately affected by this deadly but preventable disease.     

I am strong advocate for HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment programs, especially those that are culturally informed and engage with communities that are greatly impacted by this deadly disease.  However, these very good prevention and treatment programs are not enough to defeat HIV/AIDS.  W must also eliminate the oppression and marginalization that has fueled the epidemic from the very beginning. 

We must recognize forms of oppression such as:  racism, sexism and homophobia, how they relate to HIV/AIDS and their role in larger society.  And more importantly, we must take action to rid our society of such oppression.    

February 7^th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States and I propose we use this day to start a national movement to end HIV/AIDS.  A movement that seeks a comprehensive response to this 30 year plague, called AIDS.   A movement that pays as much attention to tearing down the walls of oppression as it does in passing out free condoms and clean needles. 

The fact that HIV/AIDS is almost exclusively a disease that impacts marginalized people and communities is merely a reflection of our society’s injustices.  And thus in working to end this plague, we must confront those injustices and demand a culture where everyone, regardless of skin color, drug use or sexuality, feels respected and honored as a person.