Page 2 The Skanner Portland November 29, 2017
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Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Opinion
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
Why Ending AIDS in Africa Matters to Black Americans
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
W
Jerry Foster
Advertising Manager
Christen McCurdy
News Editor
Patricia Irvin
Graphic Designer
Melanie Sevcenko
Reporter
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2017
MERIT
AWARD
WINNER
The Skanner Newspaper, es-
tablished in October 1975, is a
weekly publication, published
every Wednesday by IMM Publi-
cations Inc.
415 N. Killingsworth St.
P.O. Box 5455
Portland, OR 97228
Telephone (503) 285-5555
Fax: (503) 285-2900
orld AIDS Day (De-
cember 1) is fast
approaching and a
recently launched
initiative aimed at ending
HIV/AIDS, as a public health
crisis in Africa, could be a cat-
alyst to trigger discussions
about HIV in the African
American and African dias-
pora communities in the Unit-
ed States.
In recent months, several
African heads of state have
made public their commit-
ment to support the goal of
ending AIDS by 2030. In Sep-
tember, six African heads of
state joined UNAIDS Execu-
tive Director Michel Sidibé
at the “HIV Fast Track” side
event organized during the
72nd United Nations Gener-
al Assembly that was held in
New York City and presided
over by President Yoweri
of Uganda. Earlier in July,
during the African Union
(AU) Summit, AU Chair, Pres-
ident Alpha Conde of Guinea
convened the “AIDS Watch
Africa Heads of State and Gov-
ernment Meeting” where the
leaders endorsed the “Catch-
Up Plan for West and Central
Africa” and declared their
commitment to providing the
needed policy and resource
changes to help achieve the
target goals.
Dr. Djibril
Diallo
Reg. Dir.
Western &
Cent. Africa,
UNAIDS
The Catch-Up Plan is an
18-month initiative that has
been developed to accelerate
the AIDS response and pre-
vent a resurgence of the HIV
epidemic in the 25-country
region. Its focus is on testing,
knowing one’s HIV status,
treatment, and prevention
“
Black Amer-
icans need to
get more in-
volved in the
global fight
against HIV/
AIDS
of mother-to-child transmis-
sion; the initiative was craft-
ed to complement existing
health plans that the coun-
tries have been using to ad-
dress HIV and AIDS.
Today, thanks to advance-
ments in medicine and in-
creased access to antiretro-
viral medications for many
people in Africa and around
the world, being diagnosed
with HIV/AIDS is no longer
a death sentence. In so many
cases, with treatment the dis-
ease can be managed like a
chronic illness and kept un-
der long-term control with
medication.
However, at a time when
the global response to HIV
is accelerating, millions of
people in Western and Cen-
tral Africa are being left be-
hind. There is a considerable
gap when it comes to people
knowing their HIV status,
and for those who test posi-
tive to receive the necessary
treatment.
The same can be said for the
populations most vulnerable
to the disease in the United
States, as well.
Many of the issues that con-
tinue to fuel the HIV/AIDS cri-
sis on the continent are also
the root cause for the high
infection rates found in Afri-
can American and Hispanic
populations in the U.S. includ-
ing some of the same barriers
keep people from seeking to
know their HIV status, having
access to treatment and prop-
erly following up on treat-
ment namely poverty, fear,
stigma and discrimination.
On both sides of the Atlan-
tic Ocean, the HIV/AIDS mir-
ror reflects the same faces:
the young, the poor, women,
high-risk populations, as well
as children. In the U.S., the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) in At-
lanta, Ga., reported that “Af-
rican Americans continue to
experience the greatest bur-
den of HIV compared to other
races and ethnicities.” In 2015,
data released earlier this year,
the CDC noted that African
Americans who represent
around 12 percent of the U.S.
population, but account for
40 percent of all people liv-
ing with HIV/AIDS and near-
ly 45 percent “of all persons
with newly diagnosed infec-
tion.” Latinos, who represent
around 17 percent of the U.S.
population, account for near-
ly 21 percent of people living
with HIV and an estimated 24
percent of all persons with
newly diagnosed infection.
The Catch-Up Plan for West
and Central Africa initiative
can serve as the entry point
for talking about HIV/AIDs
and related health issues in
Africa globally and in partic-
ular, as it concerns African
American and African Dias-
pora communities in the US.
Dr. Djibril Diallo is the UN-
AIDS Director of the Regional
Support Team for West and
Central Africa.
info@theskanner.com
Why We Need More Black Men in Early Childhood Education
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Updated daily.
A
s educators, we have
an obligation to give
our students every op-
portunity to succeed.
Parents rely on us to ensure
their children are armed
with the skills and knowledge
they need to thrive, once they
leave our classrooms. Over
my more than 15 years in ed-
ucation, I have learned that
to fulfill this responsibility,
schools must give children
the opportunity to learn from
men of color. The profound
impact Black male educators
can have on the trajectory of
a child’s life cannot be over-
stated and it’s time that we ac-
knowledge it.
Promoting Diversity
According to the U.S. De-
partment of Education, less
than two percent of our na-
tion’s teachers are Black
males. At a time when non-
White students outnumber
White students in U.S. public
schools, the need for a diverse
teaching force has never been
greater. At Eagle Academy
Public Charter School, diver-
sity is something we not only
celebrate, but aggressively
pursue. We constantly look
for ways to expose our stu-
dents to different experienc-
es, perspectives and methods
for coping with challenges.
And this starts with diverse
educators.
It should come as no sur-
prise that men and women
bring different perspectives
Royston
Maxwell
Lyttle
Principal,
Eagle
Academy
to the classroom, and the same
is true for individuals of vary-
ing backgrounds and ethnic-
ities. It is crucial that schools
cultivate a diverse and stable
environment to facilitate this
development, especially in
early education, where chil-
“
educator (let alone a Black
male educator) before reach-
ing high school are slim.
The environment children
are exposed to in their first
years of education has a pro-
found impact on how they
view the world. Therefore,
there should be a sense of ur-
gency among early educators
to combat stereotypes. When
children see a diverse teach-
ing staff working together in
the same profession, they not
only learn the importance
of equality, but are also en-
couraged to ignore gender
I have seen firsthand that when
children learn and grow in a di-
verse community, they begin to
challenge stereotypes
dren develop the foundation
for the rest of their lives. I
have seen firsthand that when
children learn and grow in a
diverse community, they be-
gin to challenge stereotypes
that have, for far too long,
prevented children from
reaching their full potential.
Shattering Stereotypes
Today, early childhood ed-
ucation is still widely viewed
as a woman’s profession.
With men representing only
2.5 percent of preschool and
kindergarten teachers and
21.5 percent of elementary
and middle school teachers,
the chances of having a male
and racial stereotypes asso-
ciated with certain careers.
As a Black man working in
early education, I have seen
how these societal constructs
negatively affect children and
I have dedicated my life to
breaking them down.
Offering a Role Model
Role models play a critical
role in a child’s development.
Young boys who come from
disadvantaged backgrounds
may not have a strong father
figure at home, and often
come to school hoping to fill
that void. As a leader of a 98
percent African American
student body, I feel it is im-
portant for students to find
someone they can see them-
selves in, look up to, and as-
pire to be.
Boys who grow up with
only female teachers and role
models don’t have this oppor-
tunity. Children tend to mim-
ic influential individuals in
their lives. They benefit from
strong, Black male teachers
who lead by example. This
is something I learned from
a student while working in
Washington, D.C.
He was a young boy whose
behavioral issues were hin-
dering his ability to learn.
Without a father figure in
his life, his mother was strug-
gling to get through to him.
Upon sitting down with the
boy in hopes of identifying
the root of these problems, I
was surprised to find he had
just one request: to spend time
together. After our first out-
ing to the movies, his attitude
and schoolwork improved
dramatically. I didn’t have
to employ any complicated
learning tactic or psycholog-
ical theory to help this child
— I just had to be there and
listen. Over the remainder of
the year, I watched him grow
into a successful and happy
student. That experience left
me determined to be someone
my students can always rely
on and look up to inside and
outside of the classroom.
Read the rest of this commentary at
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