Black, Latino and Asian Caucus undertake public HIV testing

n Friday, October 15^th, members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus took to the steps of City Hall to be publicly tested for HIV. That date was National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, and the councilmember’s purpose was to send a strong message not only to the Latino community but to their own communities about the need for greater prevention and the need to reduce the stigma associated with HIV testing and AIDS.

Council Member Margarita Lopez, who had worked in tandem with the Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Federation to organize the event, laid out some basic information about the toll HIV and AIDS is taking on the Latino community. She made it clear that this disease doesn’t care about where you are from or your immigration status. Because there is such a stigma associated with being HIV infected and there is so much fear of getting tested, people wait far too long to take the test. Then, what could have been a treatable situation is much more dire, and many more people than need be end up losing their lives to AIDS.

Several other Caucus members spoke very powerfully and to the point as well. Council Member Annabel Palma told courageously and very movingly of her own mother dying from AIDS. Council Member Charles Barron stated, "AIDS is a killer and we are at war. It's killing us in Africa; it's killing us in the Caribbean, and it's killing us right here in New York City. It's killing us more than police brutality or the Ku Klux Klan. That's why we must fight it."

Majority Whip Leroy Comrie was emphatic about the need for people to get past their sensitivities and feelings of embarrassment and really talk about sex and sexually transmitted diseases in the communities, including in the churches. Council Members Letitia James and Robert Jackson spoke, too, about their plans for tackling the problem in their own districts.

The Caucus members next unwrapped their swabs, placed them into their mouths between their cheeks and teeth, thus taking the HIV test right there at City Hall. They were then assisted by health professionals who took the swabs and inserted them into their labeled containers, and off they went to the lab.

This event was part of a nationwide initiative, as nearly 250 cities in 45 states throughout the country used National Latino AIDS Awareness Day to promoted and organize events to increase HIV awareness and to counteract the stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS. This year they highlighted the theme, "Open Your Eyes: AIDS Has No Borders."