More black churches respond to HIV/AIDS

As the 30th anniversary of the HIV/AIDS epidemic approaches, the virus continues to plague the country and the world amid an environment in which funding for service providers and programs is dwindling.

All the while, infection rates are ramping up near epidemic levels for gay men and people of color, particularly in metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., where an estimated three percent of the city's residents live with HIV; including roughly 14 percent of gay men. Nationwide, those of African descent count for nearly half of all known cases of people with HIV; in spite of the fact they comprise only 12 percent of the country's entire population.

In response these statistics, advocacy on the virus is coming from a perhaps unexpected source: black churches. As reported in a Chicago Tribune article earlier this month, many black ministers in the Windy City have begun speaking openly on the virus, the importance of getting tested and addressing the topic with family, friends and significant others. The Rev. Stephen Thurston of Chicago's New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church stood before his congregation while he took an HIV test. He revealed his negative status at the conclusion of a recent sermon.

And the trend is popping up in other traditionally black religious congregations around the country. At the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, former spiritual home, the Rev. Raphael Warnock also took an HIV test before his congregation. More are expected to follow Thurston's and Warnock's lead in the days approaching National HIV Testing Day on June 27.

C. Virginia Fields, president of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, told EDGE black clergy's efforts mark a major turnaround for religious institutions that have traditionally been less engaged on HIV. Their increasing leadership on the virus is critical in reaching at-risk populations in ways other political and social leaders simply cannot.

"The Black clergy are at the forefront of this battle. Do they get the media attention? No. Do they get the criticism? Yes," said Fields. "They are where the black community looks for leadership on these issues and their voices can help shape an agenda on AIDS issues. They have the audience through their congregations each Sunday, and reach more black folks of every walk of life than any legislator or leader, nationwide. They are the ones in the position to influence our community."

Michael Crawford, an HIV/AIDS advocate based in New York, described the significance of black religious voices in support of awareness as pivotal, considering the church's active role in the civil rights movement and throughout African American history.

"For a large part of African American history, the church has been the one place where we could find solace, not be judged and find political leadership," said Crawford. "We've for so long looked at our clergy as community leaders and role models. It is a huge mind shift to see African American religious leaders speaking openly about HIV and calling on the federal government to take increased action to help end the epidemic."

Clergy have also proved instrumental in the push for the funding of testing and prevention programs specifically targeting people of color. Comprehensive legislation intended to thwart the epidemic - HR 1964 or the National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act, and its companion Senate Bill 3011 - was introduced last year. It has not, however, seen movement since Congress referred it to a house committee.

Though progress has been made, resistance remains for some black clergy considering a more active stance on HIV and other LGBT-associated issues. Many advocates point to this reluctance as major contributing factor to the stigma HIV/AIDS continues to hold for many people of color.

Terry Angel Mason, a Los Angeles-based AIDS activist and author, said, while encouraged, he hoped more black clergy would "practice what they preach" in supporting LGBT people.

"I see many churches say they want to help reach 'these people' but when they really get into the trenches, they still get hung up by the whole 'gay' ideology, that the virus is a gay epidemic," said Mason. "But the reason we are facing this epidemic today is because we refused to believe we had gay folks in the church in the first place. There are thousands of us. What is it with the African American church not wanting to deal with life as it is?" Mason asked. "They have refused to embrace advocacy. It has killed us and it is killing us."

Other advocates admit homophobia within the black church indeed remains an obstacle to increased HIV advocacy in some cases, though often not as pronouncedly as stereotypes within the broader LGBT community have often made it seem. The National Black Justice Coalition has fought a concurrent fight against racism and homophobia, while also taking on HIV/AIDS, since it came into existence in 2003.

Sharon Lettman, executive director of NBJC, said church leaders have increasingly put misconceptions about the LGBT community aside in looking at the bigger picture on HIV and other issues concerning their congregants. She hopes this trend a sign of what's to come as more black clergy move beyond stigma toward healing.

"We took out eye off the prize in keeping this epidemic under control, especially among young black boys," said Lettman. "And you're talking about peoples' children here. You're talking about your seed, the future of your community. There's no other point to be made: This is do or die."