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    RobbGenetta M. Adams
    12/01/18 1:19pm

    The reason homosexuality and trans matters are frowned upon in the black community is almost 100% linked to religion. So unless you have any resources to help promote agnosticism in our community...the rest of your measures are useless

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      Thomas L. Cunningham IVRobb
      12/01/18 4:58pm

      Getting tested and taking advantage of HIV prevention and self-care is not useless. There are cultural indicators besides religion linked to anti-LGBTQ/SGL bias, so starting conversations that can transform bias into awareness and understanding isn’t useless either. Not to mention that there are some welcoming spaces in religious congregations and there are emerging conversations in those spaces. The idea of Words Matter is that informing people about the impact of words on their perceptions and outlooks is important. You should check out the toolkit.

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      RobbThomas L. Cunningham IV
      12/02/18 3:44am

      Notice how i said almost....homosexuality is prevalent in nature. Only humans stigmatize it. That stigma is from religion.

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    Flamingo83 pt2Genetta M. Adams
    12/01/18 10:56am

    Thank you for this!

    From the CDC:

    Prevention Challenges

    In all communities, lack of awareness of HIV status contributes to HIV risk. People who do not know they have HIV cannot take advantage of HIV care and treatment and may unknowingly pass HIV to others.

    A number of challenges contribute to the higher rates of HIV infection among African Americans. The greater number of people living with HIV (prevalence) in African American communities and the tendency for African Americans to have sex with partners of the same race/ethnicity mean that African Americans face a greater risk of HIV infection. Some African American communities also experience higher rates of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than other racial/ethnic communities in the United States. Having another STD can significantly increase a person’s chance of getting or transmitting HIV.

    Stigma, fear, discrimination, and homophobia may place many African Americans at higher risk for HIV. Also, the poverty rate is higher among African Americans than other racial/ethnic groups. The socioeconomic issues associated with poverty—including limited access to high-quality health care, housing, and HIV prevention education—directly and indirectly increase the risk for HIV infection and affect the health of people living with and at risk for HIV. These factors may explain why African Americans have worse outcomes on the HIV continuum of care, including lower rates of linkage to care and viral suppression.

    There’s also been an attitude shift about the disease. Many young people liken it to diabetes. It’s much more serious and expensive to treat.

    It’s also similar challenges in the Latinx community.

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    Old ladyGenetta M. Adams
    12/01/18 11:11am

    Thank you! Folks can’t be reminded too much that HIV is not something in the distant past.

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