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NMAC Makes a Difference in The Lives of African Americans With HIV/AIDS

February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS continues to have a disproportionate impact on African Americans. On this day, we remember all the friends we've lost, all the friends fighting to stop this epidemic, and all our friends who are fighting for their lives.

We all know the numbers. They are unsettling and wrong. They're not incorrect, but they feel wrong because, for an equal opportunity disease, AIDS sure does seem to discriminate. Black gay men and Black women shoulder the major burden of the U.S. epidemic and that is wrong.

I may not be Black and I may not completely understand the cultural experience of the African American community, but I stand in total support and will fight shoulder to shoulder until we find a cure and stop this epidemic from ravaging not just African Americans and communities of color, but all communities. To paraphrase a quote from Dr. King, "HIV/AIDS anywhere is a threat to our health and well being everywhere."

In honor of National Black HIV Awareness Day, I want to tell you the story of my friend Craig Harris. Craig was one of the fiercest queens I knew. He was black, gay, proud, and living with AIDS. The history of the National Minority AIDS Council(NMAC) will always start with Craig Harris's act of defiance.

NMAC was founded in the trailer park of the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas. Yes, the trailer park. We couldn't even afford a room in the main hotel. We were brought together by Dr. Juan Ramos from the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) throughout 1986 to discuss the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on communities of color. Yes, we were talking about this as far back as 1986.

In Las Vegas, at the American Public Health Association's(APHA) annual meeting, we had our final gathering. It was an ugly meeting, as passionate advocates will occasionally have. Tempers flared, life seemed short, and people were dying. Out of this meeting came the core leadership that would later form NMAC: Carl Bean, Don Edwards (our first executive director), Gil Gerard, Craig Harris, Rashidah Hassan, Paul Kawata, Calu Lester, Sandra McDonald, Norm Nickens, Tim Offutt, Marie St.-Cyr, and Suki Ports.

We were at the APHA meeting and stayed at the Circus Circus hotel because APHA was having its first plenary on HIV/AIDS. This was historic. If we could convince these health professionals that HIV/AIDS was a critical issue, maybe they would help our sick and dying.

As we arrived to the final plenary, we discovered that no people of color were invited to speak. So our board member, Craig Harris rushed the stage, shouting "I WILL BE HEARD!" He took the microphone away from Dr. Merv Silverman, who was then San Francisco Health Commissioner, and announced the formation of NMAC and the need to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS within communities of color.

I love that NMAC's history started with an act of protest. Many organizations have similar stories, starting because there were no services for their people. We started as an act of protest and defiance against the status quo. If they wouldn't take care of us, we will take care of ourselves.

It seems like history is repeating itself. Once again, in the sprits of Craig, we need you to stand up and be heard. To honor National Black HIV Awareness Day, stand up for more funding for HIV/AIDS, stand up to fix the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), stand up for full implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). Do it for yourself, do it for your clients, do it for Craig.

About NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council(NMAC) has advanced its mission, "to develop leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS," since 1987 through individualized capacity building assistance; technical assistance trainings; public policy education programs; national and regional conferences; treatment and research education programs; online and printed resource materials; and a website: http://www.nmac.org/

The agency also serves as a membership association for its constituents - AIDS service organizations and minority faith- and community-based organizations delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color - and advocates on their behalf in Washington, DC.

NMAC's advocacy efforts are funded through private funders and donors only. For more information, please contact NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or communications@nmac.org. You may find us online at http://www.nmac.org