National News
Rodney King reflects on an up-down life since riot
Posted on 03. May, 2012 by citizen in National News
Rodney King poses for a portrait in Los Angeles. The acquittal of four police officers in the videotaped beating of King sparked rioting that spread across the city and into neighboring suburbs. Cars were demolished and homes and businesses were burned. Before order was restored, 55 people were dead, 2,300 injured and more than 1,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed.(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
LOS ANGELES –We saw his face a bloody, pulpy mess. And in 1992, when the four Los Angeles police officers who beat him after a traffic stop were acquitted, it touched off anger that affected an entire generation. Now, 20 years later, this is the face of Rodney King, and this is what has happened to him in the interim.
He’s been a record company executive and a reality TV star among many other things.
To millions of Americans, though, he will always be either a victim of one of the most horrific cases of police brutality ever videotaped or just a hooligan who didn’t stop when police attempted to pull him over.
He’s indisputably the black motorist whose beating on a darkened LA street led to one of the worst race riots in American history.
It’s been an up-and-down ride for King since he went on television at the height of those riots and pleaded in a quavering voice, “Can we all get along?”
He’s been arrested numerous times, mostly for alcohol-related crimes. In a recent interview with The Associated Press he said, “I still sip, I don’t get drunk.”
He has been to a number of rehab programs, he said, including the 2008 appearance on “Dr. Drew” Pinsky’s “Celebrity Rehab” program.
Still, he was arrested again just last year for driving under the influence.
It was his fear of being stopped for drunken driving on March 3, 1991, King said, that initially led him to try to evade police who attempted to pull him over for speeding.
After he did stop, four LA police officers hit him more than 50 times with their batons, kicked him and shot him with stun guns. A man who had quietly stepped outside his home to observe the commotion videotaped most of it and turned a copy over to a local TV station.
After a jury with no black members acquitted the officers on April 29, 1992, the city’s black community exploded in rage. Fifty-five people died, more than 2,000 were injured over three days.
King received a $3.8 million settlement from the city, but said he lost most it to bad investments, among them a hip-hop record label he founded that quickly went broke.
He makes money these days taking part in events like celebrity boxing matches. He’s also promoting his just-published memoir, “The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption.”
A tall, physically imposing man who is disarmingly friendly, self-effacing and soft-spoken, King, 47, maintains he is happy.
“America’s been good to me after I paid the price and stayed alive through it all,” he says. “This part of my life is the easy part now.”
By JOHN ROGERS, AP
Family of Slain Black Florida Teen, Trayvon Martin, Calling For Justice
Posted on 22. Mar, 2012 by citizen in National News
Family handout
The deadly shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old Black male at the hands of a white neighborhood watch member who has not been arrested in Florida is stirring tensions.
The situation, which is now gaining national attention and has the Rev. Al Sharpton getting involved, has the family of the slain victim, Trayvon Martin, calling for justice as his admitted killer has yet to be arrested and charged by police.
As the local police continue to be criticized for their slow process and failure to arrest the alleged suspect, the case has gone to the Florida’s State Attorney General’s office with the hope that justice will be served.
Reports indicate Martin was visiting his father in Sanford, Fla., just outside Orlando, on Feb. 26 in a gated community when he was on his way back from a convenience store, where he had purchased Skittles and iced tea. White neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, 28, spotted him.
Zimmerman allegedly called 911 to report a “suspicious person” in the neighborhood. Some accounts indicate that Zimmerman in fact told authorities there was a suspicious Black man walking in the neighborhood.
Dispatchers told Zimmerman not to interfere and that officers were on the way to check out the situation. Ignoring instructions, Zimmerman followed the teen in his SUV, approached Martin and the two got into a scuffle on the ground.
Zimmerman then pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and allegedly shot Martin in the chest, killing him 70 feet from Martin’s apartment. Police arrived on the scene and found Martin’s dead body.
Police reports indicate that Zimmerman told officers during questioning that he shot Martin in self-defense. After being interviewed a total of three times, officers have not arrested Zimmerman and he remains free. Police claim they don’t have enough evidence to arrest Zimmerman.
“In this case, Mr. Zimmerman made the statement of self-defense,” said Stanford Police Chief Bill Lee at a press conference this week. “Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don’t have the grounds to arrest him. The Sanford Police Department is conducting a fair investigation no matter what the color of anyone involved in it is.”
Martin’s family, along with Black neighborhood residents, say that Martin was the victim of racial profiling and question why Zimmerman had a handgun as a neighborhood watch leader. Legally, Zimmerman had a permit to carry the weapon.
“He was stereotyped for some reason. Why was Trayvon suspicious? There are hundreds of children in that community,” said Benjamin Crump, attorney for Martin’s family.
Zimmerman has a criminal record that includes resisting arrest and getting into a physical altercation with a police officer.
Since the shooting, residents have held several protests and rallies calling for the arrest of Zimmerman. Martin’s family is asking for the 911 calls from the night of the shooting to be released, which police have yet to hand over, citing the ongoing investigation. The family has also reported that police initially lied about Zimmerman’s criminal past.
“I had a detective look me in the eye and tell me he is a dad, that he is in pain and that he would bring us justice,” said Martin’s father, Tracy. “He started off on the wrong foot. He lied.”
After a request for his involvement, Sharpton said in statement this week the National Action Network (NAN) is calling for a complete investigation. Sharpton is scheduled to go to Florida to demand the 911 calls be released.
“The fact that a young, unarmed man could be killed by a neighborhood watch captain while his family was blatantly misled by local police as to the background of the shooter is disturbing,” Sharpton said. “Further, the fact that we are told that racial language was used when the young man reported his suspicions to police, and when he was told not to pursue the shooter, that he allegedly defied them by doing so, is a compelling reason for NAN and I to become involved.”
by Cyril Josh Barker
Special to the NNPA from the New York Amsterdam News
Obama shifts G-8 from Chicago to Camp David
Posted on 12. Mar, 2012 by citizen in National News
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, confer together while attending the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009. Image: Pete Souza
WASHINGTON – The White House abruptly announced that it had scuttled plans to hold the upcoming G-8 economic summit in Chicago, and would instead host world leaders at the presidential retreat at Camp David near Washington.
It was an unusual late location change for a large and highly scripted international summit, planned for May 18-19.
White House national security spokesman Tommy Vietor said that Camp David, the rustic retreat in the mountains of Maryland, was a setting that will allow for more intimate discussions among the G-8 leaders. He said security and the possibility of protests were not factors in the decision, noting that Obama would still host the NATO summit in his hometown of Chicago from May 20-21.
The White House announced plans last summer to hold both summits back-to-back in Chicago, giving the president a high-profile opportunity to tout his foreign policy and diplomatic credentials on his home turf in an election year.
Making the White House’s sudden announcement all the more curious is the fact that Obama rarely spends time at this presidential retreat. Unlike many of his predecessors, Obama has never hosted a world leader at Camp David.
Vietor said the discussions to switch the site of the G-8 summit began a few weeks ago.
The world’s eight largest economies are represented in the G-8 and hosting duties for the annual summit are rotated among the member countries. The summits have become a target for large, and sometimes violent, protests in recent years, making security costs have been a concern for host cities.
Chicago officials began planning for the summits last summer, with city officials predicting it would give the city a chance to shine internationally, while the police rank-and-file worrying whether they would be prepared to handle the thousands of protesters expected to converge downtown.
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Obama’s senior director for European affairs, said recently that the president was confident his hometown could put on a “great show” and that its police department was up to the task of providing security.
The city’s host committee had estimated it could cost $40 million to $65 million to stage the events, including the costs for security.
Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain, as well as the European Union, are expected to attend this year’s gathering.
By JULIE PACE
Associated Press writers Ben Feller in Washington and Tammy Webber in Chicago contributed to this report. AP
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Pelosi Endorses Jesse Jackson Jr. for Re-election
Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by citizen in Local News, National News, South End
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
CHICAGO – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. for re-election Saturday, adding her weight to his quest to fend off a serious primary challenger barely two weeks before the vote.
The son of the iconic civil rights leader has been in Congress since 1995 but has never faced such a battle in his district, which includes part of Chicago’s South Side and southern suburbs. His fight against former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, a white candidate who has made some inroads in Jackson’s predominantly black district, is one of the toughest in Illinois’ March 20 primary.
Debbie Halvorson
Pelosi, the former House speaker, praised Jackson’s leadership in Congress and appealed to voters to ensure he keeps his seat, saying his work on creating jobs and supporting small businesses was “very important to the success and growth of our country.”
“He understands what we have been advocating, the most enduring theme in America: the American dream. We’re about re-igniting the American dream, building ladders of opportunity,” Pelosi said at the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization run by Jackson’s father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
Voters in famously segregated Chicago and its suburbs have historically voted along racial lines, and the endorsement from Pelosi could help Jackson appeal to white and rural voters who have been added to his district under a newly drawn congressional map.
Pelosi emphasized Jackson’s accomplishments for the community, including what she said was a $940 million project to create jobs and improve transportation and health care as well as programs to train and place more than 1,000 nurses in jobs.
At the national level, Pelosi recalled how she chose Jackson to help preside over the debate for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, one of his administration’s highest priorities.
“I had to have the most respected, the most skilled, the most talented, the most professional people in the chair,” Pelosi said. “I think you would be very proud to have seen him preside over that debate, because it was something about America, and that’s what’s he has been about.”
Jackson’s challenger in the Democratic primary, Halvorson, was dismissive of the endorsement of Pelosi, who she labeled an “outsider.”
“The people in the district, they’re really tired of outsiders and politicians coming in and telling people who to vote for,” Halvorson said.
One of Jackson’s supporters, retired social worker Delores Scott, was not so sure the endorsement of Pelosi, who is from California, would have a significant impact locally. She said she was worried Jackson could lose to Halvorson, who has sought to take advantage of the redrawn congressional map as well as a House ethics investigation into Jackson’s ties to prison-bound former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The House Ethics Committee investigated reports that Jackson was involved in trying to raise money for Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson being appointed to President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Jackson has denied the allegations and long maintained that he’ll be vindicated.
“There is a concern not so much of a challenge on her part, but of a lack of voting by us I mean black people,” she said. “The challenge is getting us to vote. I think that could hurt him more than anything. I’m 65 years old and I have friends who have never voted.”
By JASON KEYSER
AP
Associated Press writer Karen Hawkins contributed to this report.
Associated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Obama Campaigns In Chicago
Posted on 18. Jan, 2012 by citizen in Chatham, National News
“I’m here not because I need your help, but because the country needs your help,” President Barack Obama said in Chicago Jan. 11. “The change we believed in, we knew it wouldn’t come easy and we knew it wouldn’t come quickly.” (Photo by Rhonda Gillespie)
President Barack Obama’s speech before a crowd of supporters Jan.11 at a University of Illinois-Chicago Forum fundraiser included some familiar material.
Before he walked on the stage to go over his own check list of accomplishments since taking office, at least three other people before him did the same.
Actor and author Hill Harper led an audience participation exercise that touted the Obama administration’s establishment of health care for millions of uninsured and underinsured American’s. His battle with cancer made that particular piece of legislation personal for him.
The night’s entertainer, singer Janelle Monae, praised her favorite Obama legislation as did members of the Obama campaign.
Then when he took to the stage, the president almost immediately picked up where Hill and Monae left off.
“I’m here not because I need your help, but because the country needs your help,” Obama said. “The change we believed in, we knew it wouldn’t come easy and we knew it wouldn’t come quickly.”
In his speech, the first campaign one in Chicago in the new year, Obama claimed to have pushed through at least some Republican roadblocks to give the country change he promised in 2008.
The bank and auto industry bailouts, passing health care legislation, repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell,” ending wars, taking down terrorists, making education reforms…and his check list went on.
“These changes weren’t easy. Some were risky. Almost all of them came in the face of fierce opposition,” he said. “Not all of the steps we took were politically popular at the time. But you know what kept me going is you.”
African Americans flocked to the polls in 2008 in record numbers. In communities like Chatham, over 80 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the election and more than 90 percent of the time the vote was for Obama.
But as many Blacks doled out hundreds –even thousands—of dollars to support Obama Wednesday, some back on the block say enthusiasm for the nation’s first Black president has cooled.
Dan-yea Johnson, 33, a technical education major at Chicago State University could hardly wait to go to the polls in 2008.
“I felt like he could make a change in the United States. I felt that it would be nice to see an African American in office,” the unemployed mother of three told the Chicago Citizen. She thought then, “If we give an African American a chance maybe he could make a difference and help African Americans because we’ve been suppressed for so long.”
But four years later, Johnson gives a noticeable pause when she considers re-electing Obama. She plans to do it, but…
“It’s not the excitement like four years ago,” she said. He deserves re-election “but I don’t think that he will get as many votes.”
Obama has repeatedly asked his supporters to be patient and believe in his ideals for change. Johnson, who commutes to the South Side university from suburban Markham, supports that.
“I believe he’s really working hard for African Americans to go to school,” she said, explaining that the president’s work with keeping Pell grant levels in tact was personally important for her. “He’s helping out a lot and trying to make sure that everyone is accommodated and no one is really left behind.”
Rev. Booker Vance knows that the foreclosure crisis took a toll on a lot of his congregants. The community activist and faith leader said the Obama administration should have pushed more for banks to work with homeowners, as part of the bailout.
“That’s been one of the great atrocities,” said the pastor of St. Stephens Lutheran Evangelical Church.
Still, he believes African Americans should continue to support Obama for president.
“Not because he’s necessarily been so successful, I just think that people underestimated how complicated” the presidency is,” he said. “For us to believe that in four years, or three-and-a-half years that this (nation’s economy) would turn completely around was just pipe dreams and naïve.”
By Rhonda Gillespie
Robert Carter, Fighter Against Segregation, Dies
Posted on 11. Jan, 2012 by citizen in National News, News
United States District Judge Robert L. Carter
By DEEPTI HAJELA
NEW YORK – Robert Carter, a lawyer who was an integral member of the team led by Thurgood Marshall that turned to the courts to battle segregation, has died. He was 94.
Carter, who later spent decades on the federal judiciary, died at a Manhattan hospital after suffering a stroke, said his son, John Carter, who is a judge on the New York state bench.
Robert Carter joined Marshall at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense and Education Fund after leaving military service in 1944.
He worked on a number of anti-segregation cases, the most high-profile of which was Brown v. the Board of Education. In that case, the plaintiffs represented by the NAACP team argued that the system of legal segregation was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in a 1954 decision.
Carter “was always a fighter,” his son said. “I saw through him the kind of progress that one could make in fighting evil through law.”
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said in a statement that the legal philosophy Carter helped create has “defined the NAACP for decades.
“He believed in equality not only in the public school system, but in every institution across this country,” he said. “His long-term vision and tremendous success in the courtroom made him a legendary figure in the Association and in the nation as a whole.”
Carter was born in Florida in 1917 and grew up in Newark, N.J. He entered college at 16 years old, attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He went to Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. and then to Columbia University in New York for an advanced legal degree, which he received in 1941.
He then entered the U.S. Army and became a second lieutenant. His experiences with racial hostility in the military only hardened his determination to fight for equality, his son said.
President Richard Nixon nominated Carter to the federal bench in the Southern District of New York in 1972.
His tenure on the bench also had some high-profile episodes. He oversaw the merger between the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association, and in 1979, found in favor of black and Hispanic officers challenging the hiring practices of the New York Police Department.
Carter also is survived by another son, David; a sister, and a grandson. AP
Veteran Newsman Remembered
Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by citizen in National News, News
Michigan Chronicle Publisher Sam Logan Jr. died Dec. 28. He was 78. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Ricardo Thomas)
Sam Logan Jr., a prominent Detroit newspaper publisher passed away Dec.28. He was 78 years old.
Logan published the Michigan Chronicle and founded the Michigan Front Page newspapers. He is credited with making significant contributions to the Black Press and the journalism industry respectively.
Logan’s family released a statement following his death.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the death of our father and grandfather Samuel Logan, longtime and legendary publisher of the Michigan Chronicle. At 78 our father lived a fulfilled life of service to Detroit and this nation. We thank everyone for their prayers and support at this time of grief.”
William Garth Sr., CEO, Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group, a longtime colleague of Logan, reflected on his life.
“I’ve known him a long time. I wasn’t even a publisher at the time and he treated me fairly. We got along pretty good and he was very knowledgeable of publishing. He was a community activist and had a lot of community involvement. He is going to be missed in Detroit,” he said.
Logan, a Louisiana native, started his career at the Chronicle as a writer and delivering newspapers.
He eventually became publisher, a role he held for over 40 years.
Logan was outspoken on critical issues pertinent to the Black community including public education and race relations. According to reports, his cause of the death had not yet been determined.
“Sam Logan was more than a Detroit icon, he was a respected pioneer in Black journalism who championed the need for coverage of a community not totally served by the mainstream media,” Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said in a written statement. “More importantly, Sam was a loyal friend who will be deeply missed by all Detroiters.
Visitation for Logan will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Swanson Funeral Home in Detroit. The funeral will be held Friday at Greater Grace Temple also in Detroit at 10 a.m.
The Chronicle announced that Hiram Jackson, CEO of its parent company, Real Times Media Inc., will serve as the paper’s interim publisher.
“I am humbled to be asked by the board to carry on his mission on an interim basis. I do this knowing that Sam’s first order to all of us at this time of great sorrow and loss for all of us would be to focus on continuing to get his newspaper out on time. We are going to do that,” said Jackson.
By Thelma Sardin
FAMU Drum Major’s Death Ruled a Homicide
Posted on 29. Dec, 2011 by citizen in National News, News
Champion died after the annual Florida Classic football game between FAMU and Bethune Cookman on Nov. 19. Authorities have said the drum major died after an apparent hazing ritual on a parked band bus.
Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion’s death was ruled a homicide.
An autopsy conducted by the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner’s Office “revealed extensive contusions of his chest, arms, shoulder, and back with extensive hemorrhage.”
The results of the autopsy showed that Champion, 26, died because of blunt-force trauma suffered during a hazing incident.
Even though there were no broken bones to 26-year-old Champion’s internal organs, there was “a significant rapid blood loss” due to the injuries he suffered, the report further stated.
The medical examiner added that Champion died as “the result of hemorrhagic shock due to soft tissue hemorrhage, incurred by blunt force trauma sustained during a hazing incident.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported that sheriff’s investigators said they will meet with the State Attorney’s Office soon to determine what, if any, criminal charges will be filed.
Champion’s mother, Pamela, reached at her Georgia home, said she’s “still trying to come to terms and absorb” the information contained in the report, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
A joint statement issued by Dr. Solomon L. Badger III, chairman of the FAMU board, and Ammons, called the autopsy information “extremely upsetting for all of us, even though it confirmed what we suspected.
“We again convey our deepest condolences to the Champion family. We will continue to cooperate with all agencies looking into the matter and are committed to creating a safe environment for the entire FAMU community and ensuring that this never happens again at FAMU.”
Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner officials said the autopsy found no evidence of a natural cause for Champion’s death, including disease, sickle-cell trait, drugs or alcohol.
“Immediately after the hazing incident, he complained of thirst and fatigue; minutes later, he noted loss of vision” and soon suffered cardiac arrest, the medical examiner said.
Gainesville lawyer Christopher Chestnut, who is representing Champion’s family, said, “It confirms our suspicions.”
The family is distraught, he said, and wants to put an end to hazing. The Champions have already filed notice of intent to sue the school, although they do not know who was involved, what was done or where.
Special to the NNPA from the Florida Courier
Information from The Associated Press and The Orlando Sentinel were used in compiling this report.
Sonny Rollins Among Kennedy Center’s 2011 Honorees
Posted on 16. Dec, 2011 by citizen in National News
Sonny Rollins (Courtesy of the St. Louis American)
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were on hand to salute the 2011 class of Kennedy Center Honorees recently at the Kennedy Center in Washington. CBS will broadcast the show on Dec. 27.
Actress Meryl Streep, pop singer Neil Diamond, Broadway singer Barbara Cook, famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins were all celebrated for receiving the nation’s top award for those who have influenced American culture through the arts.
Rollins, 81, is a jazz saxophonist who has shared the stage with Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. “America is the home of jazz. It’s what we started,” he said. “By the way, hip hop music is a part of jazz, believe it or not.”
Friend Bill Cosby marveled about how he has heard Rollins’ distinctive sax around the world in Greece, Hong Kong, Italy – and found so many people who knew the musician’s work. “All over the world, Sonny Rollins,” Cosby said.
Benny Golson and Herbie Hancock joined in playing some of Rollins’ tunes. Fellow sax player and former President Bill Clinton said earlier that he has been a fan since the age of 15 or 16 when he bought his first Rollins LP and played it until it was worn out. “His music can bend your mind, it can break your heart, and it can make you laugh out loud,” Clinton said. “He has done things with improvisation that really no one has ever done.”
Information from Eurweb.com and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Special to the NNPA from the St. Louis American
Black Women Confront HIV Stigma, Health and Funding Disparities at USCA 2011
Posted on 15. Dec, 2011 by citizen in National News
“It’s time to mobilize around the lack of funding and resources targeting women living with HIV in the United States.” Graphic Iswandy Ahmad
Special to the NNPA from the Black AIDS Institute
This year the U. S. Conference on AIDS (USCA), the largest HIV/AIDS gathering in the nation, targeted its offerings toward men who have sex with men. But during the meeting sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council, many Black women–from prevention and policy experts to those living with HIV/AIDS–aggressively pursued programming and issues that focused on their demographic.
“It’s time to mobilize around the lack of funding and resources targeting women living with HIV in the United States,” said Amanda Lugg, director of advocacy and mobilization of the New York City-based African Services Committee.
The USCA did “a very good job with multiple targets. There was a segment targeting women and I am ecstatic that next year’s conference will focus on women,” said Texas Woman’s University assistant professor Kimberly A. Parker, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.H.E.S. “But we need to do more.”
Infection rates among Black women are nearly 15 times higher than those among White women. But while in 2009 Black women accounted for about “30 percent of the estimated new HIV infections among all Blacks,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “we don’t receive 30 percent of the funding,” said Lugg. “There is a huge divide between the face of the epidemic and funding for HIV prevention and research. It’s very important to monitor how CDC utilizes resources and how the National HIV/AIDS Strategy will affect women.”
HIV Rates Rising Among Black Women in Rural States
“There are huge disparities in rural states such as Iowa,” said Taz Clayburn, community-outreach coordinator at the AIDS Project of Central Iowa. “African Americans are only 2.8 percent of the population but 56 percent of our state’s HIV and AIDS cases.”
“We’re seeing a huge increase in infections among African-American women in Des Moines,” Clayburn added. “It’s important to link African-American women to care and persuade them to motivate themselves as a priority. As Black women, we don’t take care of ourselves–we take care of everybody else first.”
Blacks account for 50 percent of HIV infections in rural counties, according the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention, whose research suggests that the rural epidemic may be shifting toward African-American women.
To complicate matters: “Since Iowa is considered a ‘low incidence’ state, we’ve lost 55 percent of our prevention funding starting January 1,” Clayburn added.
It’s a similar story in the southwest, where Blacks are few in number but disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Blacks are only four percent of Arizona’s population but are three times as likely to become infected, reported the East Valley Tribune which adds: “The HIV rate for Black women in Arizona is nearly nine times higher than that for white women.”
“The Black community is very small here, but we’re targeting resources to Black women and Black men who have sex with men,” said Kathy Donner, HIV prevention manager at the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Rod McCullom has written and produced for ABC News and NBC, and his reporting has appeared in Ebony, The Advocate, Colorlines and other media. Rod blogs on politics, pop culture and Black gay news at rod20.com.
By Rod McCullom
