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HIV/AIDS and the African-American
Community: A State of Emergency
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD; Donna M. Christensen, MD; and Erica D. Taylor, MD

HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect African Americans
more than any other racial or ethnic group in the United
States. Representing only 13% of the U.S. population, African-American adults and adolescents comprise more than
half of all HIV/AIDS cases reported to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The present incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the black community in the United
States is of crisis proportions. The situation as it stands today is
tantamount to a state of emergency for African Americans.
Key words: HIV/AIDS n African Americans
© 2008. From the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Biomedical Engineering (Laurencin, Taylor) and Chemical Engineering (Laurencin), the
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; the Congressional Black Caucus
(Christensen); and the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association
Health Institute (Laurencin, chairman of the board). Send correspondence
and reprint requests for J Natl Med Assoc. 2008;100:35–43 to: Dr. Cato T.
Laurencin, University Professor, The University of Virginia, 400 Ray C. Hunt
Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903; e-mail: laurencin@virginia.edu

Introduction

O

ver the past few decades, the proportion of new
cases diagnosed in this population has grown
substantially. In 1986, 25% of HIV/AIDS cases
were among African Americans. By 2001–2004, African Americans represented 51% of newly diagnosed
infections.1 The wide-spread impact of this disturbing epidemic is intensifying. Accordingly, the medical
community has been charged with the responsibility of
providing appropriate care for affected members of the
African-American community, as well as advancing the
design and implementation of strategies to prevent new
infections from occurring.
Several national and local prevention plans have been
executed in response to these alarming trends across the
country. However, the approaches that may have helped
decrease the spread of HIV among white homosexual
men have not proven to be as successful in meeting
the prevention needs of the African-American community. Comparing the 1980s to the 1990s, the proportion
of AIDS cases in white men who have sex with men
declined, whereas the proportion of cases in females and
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

males in minority populations increased, particularly
among African Americans and Hispanics.2 Thus, it is
important for healthcare providers and community leaders to achieve an understanding of the characteristics of
this disease as they relate to African-American individuals, from important risk factors to contributing community beliefs and access to healthcare.
Despite recognition and attention to these issues, albeit
focal, elimination of the disparities in the rates of new
infection in minority populations is an enormous task.
In a 1998 press release by the Kaiser Family Foundation,
Dr. Sophia Chang, director of HIV programs, stated “the
challenge now is to convert this high level of awareness
and concern into greater action by all those involved in
the fight against AIDS.”3 The objective of this review of
the current state of HIV/AIDS in African Americans is
to provide such heightened awareness amongst the members of the medical community, in hopes that we may arm
ourselves with the weapons of knowledge and responsiveness to urgently combat this crisis.

Recent Statistics

African Americans comprise approximately 13%
of the United States population according to the 2000
U.S. census.4 However, a 2006 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR) examining HIV data from 33 states with longterm, confidential name-based reporting found that African Americans accounted for 18,991 (50.5%) of the estimated 37,331 new HIV/AIDS diagnosed in the United
States between 2001 and 2005.1 The details of the characteristics of the populations examined in the 33 states
are listed in Table 1.
In 2005, it was estimated that 469,298 individuals
were living with HIV/AIDS, and African Americans
were 49% of the estimated 38,096 new diagnoses that
year (Figure 1).5 The estimated annual HIV/AIDS diagnosis rate among black males was 124.8 per 100,000
population and 60.2 per 100,000 among black females,
both higher than the rates for all other racial/ethnic populations.15 Among males, the annual HIV/AIDS diagnosis black/white rate ratio (RR) of 6.9 was higher than the
VOL. 100, NO. 1, JANUARY 2008 35

 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

Hispanic/white RR of 3.1. Among females, the black/
white RR was 20.1 and the Hispanic/white RR was 5.3.
African-American infants and children are also
affected by these disparities. In 2005, 91 (65%) of the
estimated 141 infants perinatally infected with HIV were
black.5 Of the 68 U.S. children (age <13) who received
new AIDS diagnoses, 46 (68%) were black. In addition
to disparities in infection rates, there are also differences
found in the prognoses for infected children and adults.
Of persons diagnosed with AIDS during 1997–2004, a
smaller proportion of blacks (66%) were alive after nine
years compared with Hispanics (74%), whites (75%),
and Asian and Pacific Islanders (81%) (Figure 2).6
During the time period 2001–2004, HIV diagnosis rates among black males and females declined by
4.4% and 6.8%, respectively.1 Results from a 2007 study
reported similar declines among African Americans in
the state of Florida.7 Although these declines in rates
of new HIV diagnoses appear promising, they may not
directly reflect trends in HIV incidence due to influences from changes in testing behavior and surveillance
practices.15 Regardless of the trends (Figure 3), African
Americans remain disproportionately affected by high
rates of HIV/AIDS. As the number of cases continues to
rise6 and the longevity of infected individuals increases
due to advances in antiretroviral therapies, the factors
contributing to these higher rates will need to be critically examined and taken into consideration.

Risk Factors Influencing
Transmission

There is no simple answer to the cause of the disparities seen in African Americans in regards to HIV/
Figure 1. Race/ethnicity of persons (including
children) with HIV/AIDS diagnosed during 2005

AIDS. In the past, explanations for the disproportionate
epidemic focused on individual risk behaviors and race
differences in activities related to sex or drug use. However, it has been recently recognized that African Americans report less risky sexual activity and drug use than
their white counterparts.8 For example, though AfricanAmerican youth do report more sexual behavior earlier
than white youth,9 consistent use of a reliable means of
contraception has a stronger association with AfricanAmerican youth and adults than the white population.10-12
Furthermore, white adolescents are more likely to use
certain illicit drugs than African Americans, initiating
drug use at younger ages.13 In addition, a study examining the risk behaviors of female jail prisoners reported
that rates of needle-sharing were significantly higher
among white females than among either African-American or Latino women.14
Nevertheless, according to updated 2001–2005
MMWR CDC data arranged by transmission category,
among HIV infected men and women with risk factors
of intravenous (IV) drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact, more than half in each category were African American (men: 53.8% and 65.7%; women 58.8%
and 69.5%, respectively).15 Thus, African Americans
are again overrepresented in these essential categories of transmission. Most individuals with HIV/AIDS
in the category of men who have sex with men (MSM)
were white (42.8%), with smaller percentages of black
(36.1%) and Hispanic (19.0%) individuals.
Within the African-American population alone, most
HIV/AIDS diagnoses of black male adults and adolescents at the end of 2005 were classified as MSM (48%),
followed by intravenous drug use (23%), high-risk heterosexual contact (22%) and MSM in combination with
intravenous drug use (7%).5 Among black female adults
and adolescents, most HIV/AIDS diagnoses were classified as high-risk sexual contact (74%), followed by IV
drug use (24%). These reported statistics are displayed
graphically in Figure 4. The risk factors influencing
transmission among the African-American community
are reviewed here individually.

Sexual Risk Factors

Adapted from CDC Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS Among African
Americans5

36 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Among female adults and adolescents, from 2001–
2005, the estimated number of AIDS cases decreased
among IV drug users and increased among both females
and males exposed through high-risk heterosexual contact.6 The data show that black women are most likely
to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with men who
are infected with HIV.15 Studies have postulated lack of
knowledge about their male partners’ possible risk factors for HIV infection, including unprotected sex with
multiple partners, IV drug use or bisexuality as driving
influences for this predominant mode of transmission.16
Furthermore, black women are more likely than white
women to have acquired HIV heterosexually.17 Because
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 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

of the disproportionate and increasing number of heterosexually acquired cases, it has been suggested that
minority communities at risk for HIV infection be considered a high priority for prevention and education programs specifically targeting heterosexually active adolescents and adults. If the risk for African-American
females continues to go unrecognized, the consequences
will undoubtedly be further increases in heterosexual
transmission rates.
Sexual contact is also the main risk factor for black
men, with male-to-male sexual contact being the predominant mode of transmission.5 High-risk heterosexual contact is less common as a primary risk factor for
HIV/AIDS cases among black male adults and adolescents, though the rate is increasing. In the current available literature, supported hypotheses to explain the disproportionate higher incidence of HIV/AIDS in black
MSM males compared to other racial groups included
a higher incidence of past or current STD diagnoses as
well as lack of HIV status awareness and testing early
in the progression of their disease among black MSM
males compared to other groups of MSM.18 From 2004–
2005, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System
(NHBS) surveyed 1,767 MSM males who frequented
MSM-identified venues, such as bars, street locations,
dance clubs, cafés, retail stores, gay pride events, social
organizations, gyms, sex clubs and parks, in five U.S.
cities. Of the black MSM males included in the study
(25% of study population), 46% were HIV positive.

Of those HIV positive, 67% were previously unaware
of their HIV status.19 These data underscore the significance of testing and improving primary prevention practices for MSM males in the black population.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) are found among the black population. In 2005,
African Americans were 18 times as likely as whites to have
gonorrhea (representing approximately 68% of the total
number of cases in 2005) and approximately five times as
likely to have syphilis (comprising 41% of all primary and
secondary cases in 2005).20 Inflammatory STDs, such as
gonorrhea, have been associated with increased HIV susceptibility and infectiousness, and may act by increasing
the number of white blood cells in the genital tract or by
elaborating cytokines that upregulate HIV expression and
increase the viral load in the genital tract. Ulcerative STDs,
such as syphilis, afford additional portals of entry through
mucosal ulcerations and also recruit inflammatory cells
that bind and propagate HIV infection.21
In short, the presence of certain STDs can increase
one’s chances of contracting HIV infection 3–5-fold,
and an individual infected with both HIV and certain
STDs has a greater chance of spreading HIV to others.22
Accordingly, the high rates of HIV infection for the African-American community may be partly attributable to
a high prevalence of STDs that facilitate HIV transmission,18 and barriers to acquiring sexually transmitted dis-

Figure 2. Proportion of persons surviving, by months after AIDS diagnosis during 1997–2004 and by race/
ethnicity

Adapted from CDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 20056

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VOL. 100, NO. 1, JANUARY 2008 37

 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

eases should be an essential component of HIV/AIDS
prevention strategies within this population.

Substance Use
Illicit drug use is an important primary risk factor
for HIV/AIDS infection among African Americans,
noted to be the second leading cause of HIV infection for both black men and black women.6 Aside from
the direct infectious risks of needle-sharing, there are
also indirect mechanisms that lead to an increase HIV
infection and inferior disease progression in this population. Substance users are more likely to engage in
high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they
are under the influence of drugs and alcohol.5 Furthermore, drug use has an impact on treatment success. A
study of female cocaine users, predominantly AfricanAmerican women, showed that substance users were
less likely than nonusers to take their antiretroviral therapies exactly as prescribed.23 The authors concluded that
HIV-infected black women substance users may require
sustained treatment and counseling to help them reduce
substance use and adhere to antiretroviral therapy.

tion were African Americans.26 From another data perspective, as of 1997, an African-American male was estimated to have a one in four likelihood of going to prison
in his lifetime, compared with a chance of one in 23 for a
white male.27 Without question, these racial disparities are
devastating to the social networks, family relationships
and economic stability within the black community.
There is widespread concern about the effects of
incarceration on HIV/AIDS risk in African Americans.
The prison environment is indeed a high-risk setting for
the transmission of HIV/AIDS as a result of the prevalence of HIV among inmate populations and the highrisk activities that may occur within the institutions,
including unprotected risky sexual contact, drug use and
the potential risks from nonsterile tattooing.28 Shockingly, one-fourth of all people living with HIV in the
Figure 4. Transmission categories for AfricanAmerican adults and adolescents living with
HIV/AIDS at the end of 2005

Incarceration
The number of individuals in U.S. prisons and jails
has increased significantly over the past decade, with
nearly 1.4 million people incarcerated in U.S. federal or
state prisons in 2003.24 This growth is even more evident
among the black community. Between 1984–1997, the
rate of current incarceration among African-American
men went from one in 30 individuals to one in 15.25 By
2003, blacks were five times more likely than whites to
have been to jail, 39% of local jail inmates were black,24
and 44% of the prisoners under federal or state jurisdicFigure 3. Cases of HIV/AIDS among persons
aged ≥13, by year of diagnosis and race/
ethnicity, 2001–2005

Adapted from CDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 20056

38 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Adapted from CDC Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS Among African
Americans5

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 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

United States in 1997 were incarcerated at some point
during the year.29
In addition to any risks associated with the prison
environment, investigators have considered the longterm consequences of incarceration for the lives of
released inmates.8 In terms of social network and relationship disruption, Hoffman and colleagues found
that individuals in networks with higher rates of turnover (more new members entering the network and
more members leaving) were more likely than others to
engage in HIV risk behaviors.30 The economic security
of released inmates is also affected by their criminal history in several ways, including the reluctance of employers to hire individuals with criminal records. Economic
instability may lead individuals to engage in “survival
sex,”31,32 and risky drug use,33 both serious risk factors
for HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, former inmates’ access to
drug treatment services is generally limited by their lack
of financial resources.8
By and large, the degree to which African Americans
are disproportionately more likely to be incarcerated relative to white individuals contributes to the racial disparities in HIV/AIDS. Current recommendations to further
delineate the role of incarceration include large-scale
meta-analyses to estimate the proportion of black male
infections attributable to transmission to incarceration.

Socioeconomic Status and
Access to Healthcare
Finally, studies have found multifactorial associations between higher incidence of HIV/AIDS and
lower income.34 Limited access to high-quality healthcare, housing and HIV/AIDS prevention and education

programs both directly and indirectly increase the risk
factors for HIV infection. In 1999, nearly one in four
African Americans was living in poverty.35 The overrepresentation of HIV within this community has been
linked to the consequences of marginalized social status and poverty, including higher risks for homelessness,
drug use, incarceration and risky sexual behavior, all of
which contribute to infection with and transmission of
HIV/AIDS within the community as mentioned in previous sections of this review. In addition, data from the
HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), the
only nationally representative study of people with HIV/
AIDS receiving regular medical care, showed that access
to healthcare is heavily influenced by race and ethnicity:
blacks were more likely to report postponing medical
care because they lacked transportation, were too sick
to go to the physician or had other competing needs.36
More often than not, African Americans and individuals living in poverty do not have adequate access to the
health education, prevention plans and treatments available to those who are not impoverished.37
Along these lines, access to care can be improved by
access to health insurance (public or private). Expectedly, insurance coverage of those with HIV/AIDS varies by race and ethnicity. According to HCSUS, African Americans with HIV/AIDS were more likely to be
publicly insured or uninsured than their white counterparts.38 More than half of African Americans in the study
(59%) relied on Medicaid compared to 32% of whites.
One fifth of the black participants (22%) were uninsured
compared to 17% of whites. Thus, socioeconomic status
represents another likely contributing factor to the racial
disparities of HIV/AIDS in African-Americans.

Figure 5. Percent of surveyed individuals who report being tested by race/ethnicity

From Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Americans on HIV/AIDS39

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VOL. 100, NO. 1, JANUARY 2008 39

 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

HIV Serostatus Awareness

The high level of unrecognized HIV infections
among African Americans is a public health concern.
Individuals unknowingly infected with HIV cannot benefit from earlier lifesaving therapies, nor can they protect their partners from becoming infected with HIV.5 A
large 2004 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that,
although African Americans are more likely than whites
to say they have been tested for HIV, particularly in the
last year, almost one-third of the African Americans surveyed have reported having never been tested for HIV
(Figure 5).39 The lack of screening is even more concerning among black MSM. Of black MSM individuals
who tested HIV positive in a 2005 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance study, more than two-thirds were previously unaware of their HIV status.19 Timely diagnosis
is also critical. CDC surveillance data shows that, of all
HIV infections diagnosed in African Americans in 2004,
40% were diagnosed with AIDS <12 months later.6

Community Beliefs and
Perceptions

HIV/AIDS ranks first as the most urgent health problem facing the nation named by African Americans.39
Compared to white individuals, African Americans are
more likely to be personally concerned about the disease, in terms of themselves and their children, and are
also more likely to know someone who has HIV/AIDS
or has died from AIDS. African Americans are also more
likely to say there is a significant amount of discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS in the United States
today. Despite these statistics, the HIV/AIDS epidemic
has created: 1) significant stigma within the AfricanAmerican community and also 2) outward mistrust of
the biomedical community, both hampering the population’s ability to fully engage in HIV/AIDS prevention.
In a community where religious leaders are critically
important, black churches play a major role in shaping
cultural norms and attitudes in relation to beliefs about
sexuality. Openly discussing topics such as sexuality,
homosexuality, sex outside marriage, drug use and other
private issues has always been taboo. Raising awareness
about HIV/AIDS thus becomes a huge challenge and,
in some cases, can lead to denial about HIV, decreasing testing among the population. Early in the course
of epidemic, community-based organizations, particularly those serving drug users, were likely to acknowledge the AIDS epidemic, whereas religious leaders
maintained a distance.40 This unequal movement with
the community has been postulated to be a source of
great concern given the importance placed on religious
institutions. National surveys report that the majority of
African Americans are members of a church, and these
sectors have great influence on community attitudes,
even for nonmembers. For a variety of reasons beyond
the scope of this review, teachings have led to prejudice
40 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

within many black communities towards homosexuality. The end result, in many instances, is justified discrimination and marginalization by heterosexuals. This
decreases the amount of open discussion and education
about HIV/AIDS and, as a result, there is a lack of widespread community support.
Mistrust of the biomedical community by African
Americans has been documented over centuries, rooted
in historical racial discrimination in the nation’s healthcare system, including the well-known Tuskegee Syphilis study travesty.41 Such mistrust has also been linked
to conspiracy beliefs about HIV. In 1999, black research
assistants conducted a door-to-door survey of >500 black
adults in San Bernadino, CA.42 Nearly 27% of those surveyed endorsed the view that HIV is an artificially created virus designed by the federal government to exterminate the black population. Furthermore, those who
agreed that AIDS is a conspiracy against them tended
to be culturally traditional, college-educated men who
had experienced considerable racial discrimination. A
second large survey of African Americans reported that,
among men, stronger conspiracy beliefs were significantly associated with more negative condom attitudes
and inconsistent condom use.43
Given the highly imbalanced prevalence rates of HIV/
AIDS within the African-American community, identifying any barriers to prevention efforts is essential for
the design and implementation of effective interventions
in black communities. Lack of open HIV/AIDS discussion and pervasive conspiracy beliefs must be addressed
in the context of prevention strategies.

Masking Homosexual Behavior

Homophobia and stigma can cause some black MSM
males to identify themselves as heterosexual or to not
disclose their sexual orientation. In a 1998 psychology
study from the University of Illinois, qualitative data
from individual interviews with 18–29-year-old African-American MSM males were used to examine the
relationship of negative attitudes toward homosexuality, self-esteem and risk for HIV.44 Respondents perceived members of their communities as holding negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and many thought
the African-American community was less accepting
of homosexuality than the white community, leading to
significant psychological stresses. In addition, respondents articulated several mechanisms by which low selfesteem and distress might be associated with sexual
behaviors that put one at risk for HIV.
Termed by the media first in 2001 as the “down-low”
phenomenon, it was widely debated that being openly
homosexual may lead to considerable stigma in communities, such as the African-American community, where
traditional family behavior is greatly valued. This leads
to engagement in male-to-male sexual contact in secret
while publicly maintaining heterosexual relationships
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 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

with women. Some critics later argued that this negative
mainstream attention wrongfully linked the down-low
phenomenon to solely African-American men, clouding the real contributors to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic among this population. For example, one author
argued that the down-low debate demonized black men,
stigmatized black women and encouraged an unhealthy
“battle of the sexes,” distracting attention from the issue
of HIV prevention, personal responsibility and condom
use.45 There is also evidence that black MSM males who
do not disclose their homosexual or bisexual activities
engage in a lower prevalence of HIV risks than black
MSM males who do disclose. Furthermore, black men
who are currently bisexually active account for a very
small proportion of the overall population of black men
(estimates of approximately 2%).46
Still, in a CDC-sponsored study of 8,780 MSM with
HIV infection or AIDS, 24% of non-Hispanic black
MSM identified themselves as heterosexual, compared
with 6% of non-Hispanic white MSM.47 It was then suggested that minority community leaders should promote
dialogue about issues of sexual orientation to overcome
social barriers to HIV prevention for African-American
MSM, especially among young men.

Strategies for Prevention
and Action

Disproportionately high rates of infection among
blacks highlight the need to expand HIV-prevention
interventions known to be effective and implement
new, improved and culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS
strategies. Since the early beginnings of the epidemic,
the CDC has funded programs that: 1) help individuals learn their HIV status, 2) help high-risk HIV-negative persons avoid infection, 3) support prevention services for persons living with HIV infection, and 4) help
track the course of the epidemic and identify new and
enhanced interventions.48 However, given the disparities for blacks more than any other race or ethnicity, the
CDC recently committed to reassessing, strengthening
and expanding its efforts to address the epidemic among
African Americans.
Action strategies to accomplish this culturally specific outreach include expanding access to resources by
building linkages with other organizations that provide
related social and health services to African Americans
(e.g., employment, housing and mental health services)
to make HIV prevention information and services more
widely available. Attempts are also being made to promote early HIV testing as a normal part of healthcare
screenings for all African Americans to increase opportunity for HIV diagnosis and early treatment. Furthermore,
African-American researchers, including behavioral scientists, anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists,
are being recruited to develop HIV prevention interventions tailored to the needs of the black community. PerJOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

haps even more challenging will be the objective task
to mobilize broader community action, fostering forums
such that African Americans can talk about HIV/AIDS
in places where they live, work and worship. One strategy to create such vast change involves merging HIV/
AIDS prevention with efforts against racism, homophobia, joblessness, sexual violence, homelessness, substance use, mental illness and poverty.
There are additional initiatives recently put in place
that are specific to high-risk subgroups of African
Americans, including programs for incarcerated men
upon release and prevention strategies for homosexual
and bisexual black men. In addition to national organizations and programs, such as National Black HIV/
AIDS Awareness Day, there are several opportunities
for members of the biomedical and African-American
communities to collaborate and support these efforts,
decreasing the deep-rooted racial health disparities in
HIV/AIDS that currently exist.

Conclusions

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in African Americans is a
deadly reminder of the health disparities that exist among
this population. Several sets of statistics prove that there
are many areas within this disease process in which African Americans are continuing to lose ground. Blacks are
overrepresented in subgroups of individual risk factors
for HIV transmission, including those related to sexual
behavior, substance use, sexually transmitted diseases
and incarceration. The disproportionate rates of lower
socioeconomic status and poverty in African Americans
indirectly leads to a vicious cycle enhancing risk factors
for HIV infection and also contributes to the overt discrepancies in access to appropriate healthcare services
for prevention and treatment resources.
Furthermore, the paucity of widely available and promoted HIV testing, confounded by cultural hindrances
to serostatus awareness, has fostered a delay in diagnosis
and missed opportunities for prevented transmission and
early treatment of HIV. The concealment of homosexual
behavior, which spurs a host of psychological and health
consequences in its own right, has garnished nationwide media attention and debate with little resolution or
progressive action. Similarly, community belief systems
in regards to perceived immoral behaviors and prevalent conspiracy theories have had deleterious impacts
on African-American involvement in prevention and
education programs, also fueling the unyielding health
disparities.
So what is the role of the minority providers and those
practitioners that serve the African-American communities? This review provided only a snapshot of the multifactorial nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However,
the objective was to present a foundation of knowledge
and awareness of the issues that our community faces
daily, both in practice and in life. The CDC has outlined
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 HIV/AIDS and the African-American Community

solid action strategies to begin chipping away at the barriers to HIV prevention and treatment in African Americans, and the members of the biomedical community
have the potential to be a major driving force in their execution and success. Scientists have the promise to spearhead research advances in HIV vaccinations and continued understanding of genetic differences that may lead
to variable responses to antiretroviral therapies. Public
health researchers can pioneer the epidemiological studies to investigate the advantages and pitfalls of current
HIV prevention strategies for African Americans, with
data then being used to steer public policies in a positive
direction. Psychologists and sociologists stand to reach
the males and females struggling with consequences of
having to re-establish their social networks after release
from incarceration or following condemnation for their
sexuality. Regardless of the mode of contribution, the
call for action has been presented. The HIV/AIDS crisis in African Americans as it stands today represents a
state of emergency.

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