Last Thursday students had a chance to learn how to protect themselves from a global killer as the office of multicultural affairs hosted a National Black/HIV Awareness Day Community Forum in the Culp Center.
The forum was part of a nationwide community mobilization effort to emphasize the state of emergency of HIV/AIDS among the African-American population.
According to organizers, AIDS is the number one killer of African-American men and women between the ages of 25 and 44.
Further, the CDC estimates that African-Americans make up nearly 37 percent of all AIDS cases in the U.S.
“It is important to get this message to young people,” said Margaret Davis, an HIV/AIDS educator for the Northeast Tennessee Minority Health Coalition.
According to Laura Terry, director of multicultural affairs, the forum consisted of a presentation by Dr. Sheila Dennie of Focus Inc. in Nashville.
There was also a panel consisting of Margaret Davis; the Rev. Danny Johnson, a minister from Faithful Baptist Church and a chaplain from the Northeast Tennessee Correctional Center.
“The chaplain explained that the percentage of men in the correctional facility with AIDS is decreasing, but that Hepatitis C was on the rise among this population,” Terry said.
A student question-and-answer period followed the presentation.
“We talked about ways to get other students involved in a program like this and how important it is for them to know how to protect themselves from AIDS,” Terry said.
She went on to say that plans for a similar, more inclusive program are being made, with hopes that more students will attend.
“We would like to reach out to classes, so that maybe professors could offer extra credit for attending this forum,” she said.
Prior to the forum, display booths were set up in the Culp Center from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in an effort to provide students with information regarding AIDS. Pamphlets from the Northeast Tennessee MHCDC, Project HOPE and the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Office were available.
The forum was sponsored by the Northeast Tennessee Minority Health Community Development Coalition (MHCDC) and ETSU’s office of multicultural affairs, in cooperation with the Tennessee Minority Initiatives Project.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a project of the Community Capacity Building Coalition (CCBC), a group of national organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Minority AIDS Initiative.
Their purpose is to provide capacity building assistance to community-based organizations and stakeholders involved in AIDS prevention. Organizations in partnership with the CCBC include the NAACP, Office of the Surgeon General and Health Resources and Services Administration, to name a few.
For more information, or for upcoming activities, call the office of multicultural affairs at 439-4210.

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