From the Huffington Post Blog…

To End AIDS Among Black Gay and Bi Men, There’s a Need for Action

The face of AIDS as imagined by some in America is that of a black gay or bisexual man. Indeed, black gay and bisexual men, or men who have sex with men (MSM), have the highest HIV rates in the country. Black MSM are commonly portrayed as as “down low brothers” who transmit the disease to women by having unsafe sexual relationships with men on the side, or even as carriers of the disease by default, somehow. These stereotypes treat the epidemic as a result of ignorance about safe sexual practices, or of homophobia, and in doing so they offer an overly simplistic solution to a far more complex problem.

What all too often goes unaddressed is the fact that black MSM tend to be at the intersection of multiple identities and challenging circumstances — racism, homophobia and economic disenfranchisement — that adversely affect their access to HIV testing, prevention and treatment. That intersection is a very dangerous place, and our various communities and the federal government have yet to respond adequately to address our health and service needs.

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