Public Enemy Number One

"The world won’t get no better if we just let it be.
The world won’t get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me."
- Wake Up Everybody, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

It’s all over the local news today. Front page of the Washington Post, DC Examiner, local radio news tidbits…. They’re all saying the same thing: DC's HIV/AIDS infection rate is 10 times the national average. Recent studies show the District's AIDS rate is the worst of any city in the countyr, nearly twice the rate in New York, and more than four times the incidence in Detroit. The Chocolate of the city, what’s left of it, is quickly crumbling away.


Warning: The Chocolate is tainted. Consumption of this substance can lead to death!

Why us? Why D.C.? What is it specifically about our residents and our city that has created this dynamic breeding ground for one of the top deadly diseases of the world? Our Nation’s Capital. Home of the U.S. Senate & House of Representatives, the Washington Monument, Smithsonian Institution and the Rock House (© dead prez). BET, Radio One, and NPR are based in the D.C. area. A gazillion federal government agencies are headquartered here. All this power floating around the city and none of it is being used to protect the home front. All this $$$ floating around and can't nobody stop, or at least slow down, the spread of HIV & AIDS with the city limits?

Now you know this PSA wouldn’t be dark & stormy certified without me breaking it down into numbers. Let’s take a closer look at the picture. The D.C. HIV/AIDS administration says that 80% of the cases involved in this study are black. And 9 out of 10 women who tested positive [within the study] were black women. Hmmm… Black. Woman. In D.C.

That’s me.

I don’t think you heard me. That's me. Me and your mama and your sister and your wife and your daughter. Grandmas too. We are the face of HIV/AIDS.

It gets deeper. While black folks make up a mere 12% of nation’s population (circa year 2000) , we are 60% in the nation's capital. In other words 343,000+ of Chocolate at risk. INCREDIBLE. How in the hell is possible? Shit don't add up to me. But I shall save the discussion of the origins of said epidemic for another day.

I do wish to point out that we cannot blame vanillafication for all of our problems. We must take responsibility for allowing our communities to deteriorate. It's easy to say "I didn't do it." Or "it's not my problem." I am bothered by our communal complacency and lack of urgency. Black women, the source of human life, are dying. Dying from a preventable illness. And I feel helpless in the struggle. To hell with the war on terrorism, the war on drugs, and the rest of these dumb ass “wars” waged on words. We must fight the war on genocide. This is some real ish. I am asking you what can we do? What can I do? I’ve done the workshops with teenagers. I’ve done the condom distribution at nightclubs with the National Urban League. I’ve donated money (and still do) to organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic. It’s not enough.

So here is my challenge to you:

1- Spread the message, wherever you are. You may not be in D.C. but as long as you live on Earth, this message is relevant. Stop being scared to speak up and start saving your people.

2- Get involved. Period. Can't be preachin to the choir using binoculars from your second story bay window.

3- Get tested. Yes it's scary. Even when you know you get saran wrapped from head to toe at just the thought of sumthin freaky. It's still scary. What's scarier is your willingness to pass it on to a spouse or child in the name of ignorance-by-choice.

The Revolution Starts With You.

Tumultuously Yours,

Dark & Stormy