Black AIDS
Institute releases national report on AIDS among
African-American youth

The Black AIDS Institute this week released the second in a series of reports chronicling the state of the AIDS epidemic among African-Americans. The report, titled "Reclaiming Our Future: The State of AIDS Among Black Youth," written by University of Chicago political science professor Cathy J. Cohen and her colleagues Alexandra Bell and Mosi Ifatunji, explains how the collected social ills bearing down upon African-American youth have added up to make them the new face of AIDS in America.

People under age 25 account for half of all new U.S. HIV infections each year. Within that group, African-American youth account for 56% of those new infections. African-Americans also account for 66% of new HIV infections among 13- to 19-year-olds, and 53% of new infections among 20- to 25-year-olds.

The report examines some of the key ways in which HIV intersects with larger cultural issues that affect African-Americans--including how politicians, policy makers, and popular culture have contributed to the alarmingly high HIV infection rates--and suggests possible solutions to the problems.

"We must begin to recognize HIV/AIDS as one of the leading challenges to the survival of young African-Americans," the Black AIDS Institute says in a press release.

The full report is available online at www.blackaids.org.

In December the Black AIDS Institute will release a third report focusing on the state of AIDS among African-American women.