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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2014)
^lortlanh (Obstruer Page 6 December 24, 2014 New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service eK O il Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services 76 î BA-CLEÏ o ï Minimum Service CHG $45.00 < Coirmi^ td a. tou/rt nea^i/; A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied M » s VAO pOLUJYvOH , ÌO Q % CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area 0 (k i-1 !,F L4 1 F 1.^ p Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 sm all H allw ay) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services)-. $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wooly. $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: A dditional $ 10.00 each area (RequiringExtensivePre-Spraying) aH M M H M W H H I Our Young Black Men and Women are in Danger Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic P aul K awata W hy d o e s the color o f my skin, w ho I choose to love, m y HIV sta tus, m y age, m y gender or the ex pression o f my gender som ehow m ake m e worth less than you? Some religious leaders and gov- e rn m e n t o ffic ia ls say I ’m a "worthless gay infected trans drug using wom an o f color." T heir dogm a m akes the world unsafe, stacked against me, never going to change. So I give up, fight back, d o n ’t care, get infected. You see me as a loser, a whiner, a burden to society, an AIDS victim. Yet through all o f this or because o f all o f this, I know that I am a survivor, a rebel, a fighter, a hero, a person living with H IV / A ID S. Ferguson and New York are wake-up calls to America. It's time to get real about race and the im pact that racism has on our health and our communities. It should also be a wake-up call to the HTV/ AIDS movement. It can’t be an by UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With th & Other Services)'. $5.00 *L ADDITIONAL SERVICES • A rea & O riental R ug C leaning • A uto/B oat/R V C leaning • D eodorizing & P et _ " x O d o r T reatm ent rv • S pot & Stain R em oval Service • S cotchguard P rotection • M inor W ater D am age S erv ices SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 ■MHHMOMMNWHMM accident that in America the major ity o f new HTV infections are among young black gay men; or that black women are 20 times more likely to be HIV infected then white women. If this is the current state o f the epidemic, then why are minority AIDS service orga nizations usually the first to close their doors? Earlier this year, I raised a concern that no African Ameri can specific organizations were selected as providers o f capacity building assistance in the recent ro u n d o f C D C fu nding. L ike America, our movement has some tough question1 ponder. Our work focuses die social deter minants o f health, where educa tion, employment, income, job se curity, h ousing and access to h e a lth c a re c o n trib u te to an individual’s risk o f exposure to HIV. W hat drives these social deter minants? Overwhelmingly the an swer is race. People o f color in America are less likely to graduate high school, there are proportion ally fewer minorities with high pay ing corporate jobs, and study after study shows negative health out comes for African Americans as compared to their white counter parts. If we are to end the AIDS epidemic in Am erica, we m ust stand up to racism , sexism, and hom ophobia. W hen the w orld says "you are w orthless, so why does it m atter if you get infected?” we m ust be prepared to show our worth. Young African Am erican gay men do not have any m ore sex then their white counterparts, nor does their sexual behavior significantly differ. Young black gay m en are also less likely to be retained in care, and less likely to have an undetectable viral load. Black wom en represent 64 per cent o f all new HIV infections in women. In 2010, HIV was the 7th leading cause o f death for black wom en ages 22-44, but did not rank in the top 10 leading causes o f death for white wom en o f a sim ilar age. Across the board, m any AIDS service organizations are closing their doors. A necdotally it seems like m inority AIDS service orga nizations close earlie r and in greater numbers. This does not mean that only m inority organiza tions can pro v id e serv ices to people o f color, but it m ight re flect the im pact that system ic racism has on com m unities and why m inority organizations fail in greater numbers. For Ferguson to change, its resi dents need good paying jobs, safe sch o o ls/h o m es, and access to healthcare. If we don’t invest in the infrastructure and the organiza tions in that city, nothing will change. Similarly, for HTV epi demic to end, we have to invest in its infrastructure and organizations that are central to the lives o f gay m en and w om en, p articu larly young women and gay men o f color, and more preciously young African American women and gay men. Like Ferguson, young black gay men and African Am erican wom en living with HIV need good paying jo b s, safe schools and hom es, and access to healthcare — all things denied to m any be cause o f their race, sexual orien tation, gender or gender identity. How are we to end an epidem ic in a country that is in so m uch turm oil? In 2015, the National M inority AIDS Council will take a closer look at how race impacts H IV /A ID S infections, funding, services and com m unities. I d o n ’t have the answers, but I know it’s time to ask the questions. How can we create a w orld w here #A llLivesM atter when large por tions o f society d o n ’t think that this is true? Paul Kawata is executive di rector o f the National Minority AIDS Council.
