AIDS Cases Rising Among Black People in America
Terry Moran opened the show by explaining that Peter Jennings was working on the report before he was diagnosed with cancer. Moran apologized on behalf of the media for not reporting sooner what a big problem AIDS is for black people in America today.
The report began with footage of celebrities visiting South Africa to raise money and awareness. So much has been made of the AIDS problem there, Moran said, that the AIDS crisis among black people in America has been overlooked.
This led to the first reason the show gave for this problem: Ignorance. Since the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed 25 years ago, the perception is that only gay men and intravenous drug users contract the disease. Even the diagnosis of Magic Johnson didn’t change that perception. These days, the huge statistics on AIDS in Africa have overshadowed the problem here.
The second reason the show gave for the problem is Government Failure. Experts talked about the success of needle exchange programs in other countries that have slowed the spread of AIDS among IV drug users. Politically, the idea hasn’t gotten off the ground in America. I think ABC took sides on this aspect of the issue by classifying it as ‘government failure.”
Reason No. 3 is in America’s Prison System. This would actually be a better example of government failure. The AIDS infection rate in prisons is five times the rate among the free population. Not only do prisoners contract AIDS, but they don’t know it. The prison system does not have a comprehensive AIDS testing and prevention program in place. The experts said prisons do not want to admit that sex takes place among the inmate population.
The fourth and most controversial reason for this problem is Sex. The report stated that blacks are more than twice as likely as whites to have multiple sex partners simultaneously. A health expert said this raises the likely transmission of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
This led into a discussion of living “on the down low” lifestyle led by some gay and bisexual black men. Since the black community has a strong stigma against homosexuality, some men choose not to come out of the closet. Instead, they sleep with both genders and pass the AIDS virus to women. The most shocking statistic is that black women are 23 times more likely than white women to contract the AIDS virus.
Jennings made his appearance here, and he looked to be in declining health. He led a roundtable discussion with black men, some of whom admitted passing the AIDS virus to unsuspecting women. Women had a separate roundtable discussion with Moran. Both genders talked about how rare it is for black people to discuss this problem openly.
This led to the end of the show, which talked about the relative silence of black churches on this problem. In a one-on-one interview, Moran didn’t let Jesse Jackson off the hook for his lack of response to this issue.
Overall, this was a very fair journalistic piece, and Jennings would have been proud of how his colleagues completed his report. Moran and the other reporters didn’t shy away from the touchy aspects of this growing problem.
However, if the problem is so terrible – and it is- why didn’t ABC make a bigger deal out of it? The network should have given the show the same huge advance promotion it afforded to The Road To 9/11. While the 9/11 show would probably get better ratings, the black AIDS problem is happening right now. It will only get worse unless everyone – black and white – start treating it like one of the biggest problems in the United States.
