TheLoop21.com

By: Crystal P. Smith (follow this member)
Thu, 06/11/2009 - 00:00

After last week's kickoff of TheLoop21.com and the Magic Johnson Foundation's summer campaign, Stop Black AIDS, we're turning to the Afrosphere for help. We need to make sure everyone understands AIDS is becoming a "black" disease and putting our families and our future at risk.

In case you missed it, we gathered in New York an all-star panel of influential bloggers and writers from big name organizations, including BlogXilla, of BlogXilla.com; Kenya Byrd, of Essence.com; Chuck Creekmur, of AllHipHop.com; Terrence Dean, author of Hiding in Hip Hop — On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry from Music to Hollywood; Sonya D. Lockett, of BET; K. Aletha Maybank, of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and Angela Yee, of Sirius XM Radio's Shade 45 station.

With the panel discussion behind us, we're looking forward to watching the Afrosphere take awareness about the AIDS epidemic in the black community to another level. Can bloggers reach young black internet users better than the "experts"? Will we respond better to information about AIDS and how to prevent it if it's coming from an arena we're already hooked in to? There have been public service announcements, targeted commercials on BET and other efforts within our school systems, but still young black adults have higher rates of AIDS than other young people. Maybe an online discussion will make the difference.

People are already beginning to talk more about the AIDS epidemic in the black community.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Chuck Creekmur, co-founder and CEO of Allhiphop.com, and one of our panelists:

Mike Street: What were some of the major take aways from the panel that everyone should know?

Chuck Creekmur: Our youth doesn’t see what HIV/AIDS really does. They may see Magic as the shining face of AIDS and not really understand what it does. Also, there is the lack of education and honesty about what kids are doing. We have to treat this like the state of emergency that it is. We aren’t and most others don’t care at all. The stats on AIDS in the Black community are staggering.

We will have the entire summer to get the word out, especially during two week-long internet conversations, June 21-27 and July 19-26, in which we're asking all black bloggers to talk about the AIDS crisis in unity. You can help by voicing your opinions in our forums and polls, signing our petition, and posting our Stop Black AIDS logo on your blog, Web site, Twitter or Facebook page.

We have to Stop Blacks AIDS.

Crystal P. Smith is TheLoop21.com's editor. She writes the Inside the Loop and Across the Afrosphere blogs.