Tea began as medicine and morphed into a beverage of choice!
I don't quite remember when I fell in love with tea but I do remember the most 
Until recently I had never drank Peppermint Tea made with loose leaves. And Honestly, I will probably never go back. The freshness of loose Peppermint Tea cannot be denied. When I open the can of 
I love to read! Inside a book I escape into someone else's life. There is something wonderful about turning to the next page of a wonderful story. Something intoxicating about the smell of the book and the story it brings to life. Reading brings me joy, and these days with my health in the balance, I find solace in my books.
The Center For Disease Control says that Black folks are 44% of all new cases of HIV in the United States and nearly half of all cases of HIV in this country. It seems the more things change for the better around HIV/AIDS, the worst it gets in the black community.
There is so much good news around HIV/AIDS. Treatment is so much better than that single treatment of AZT that I started taking in 1992. Testing for HIV is a swab in the mouth with test results in 20 minutes. There are socially conscious condom companies like B Condoms promoting prevention and responsible sex. There are more Black organizations tackling HIV/AIDS than ever and even large numbers of Black Churches are doing their part.
The stigma around HIV created an enormous amount of shame for people living with HIV/AIDS and their family. This stigma is embedded in American culture. In the 21st century it's become politically incorrect to talk negatively about HIV and people living with HIV openly, but the whispers float in our society just like the air we breathe. I can understand at one level the Black community saying, "Not Me!" I mean who wants to admit that HIV is rampant in their community. Shoot, I kept my infection a secret for 7 years because I was afraid that people would judge me. Still today, I get nasty tweets about my dating and sex life, but I tackle it head on.
That's why testing is important. Lets' take it a step further. New data shows that if an infected person is in proper treatment then the chances of them infecting their partner is minimal So knowing your HIV status is key.
Now lets' take treatment. Many people are afraid of being seen in the AIDS clinic so they don't keep their appointments and some forgo treatment altogether, rather than being spotted. I can't make this stuff up. I have a friend in her early days of being told her HIV status, who scooted down in the seat of her car in the clinic parking lot, because she saw someone she knew in the lot. I have yet another friend, who stopped being my friend, because other friends of hers kept asking how did she and I become friends. And yet another friend, a doctor nonetheless, who wouldn't take her medication because she didn't want her colleagues to catch her taking it.
Another issue closely related to proper treatment and testing is disclosure. People live in fear; If they know their HIV status, how will people treat me and if I tell will, they still love me? There are many family members who instead of providing support, just simply gossip. Then there are other family members who never discuss it. If HIV is not a welcomed topic in ones family, it isolates the infected person. Isolation leads to depression, and depression leads to noncompliance. When people are depressed they have no will or desire to take medication or make doctor appointments and for that matter disclose their HIV status to future partners for fear of rejection. I mean if I'm being rejecting whether overtly or covertly in my family, why would I believe anyone else who want me.
At some point, we have to take ownership of this disease. The African Proverbs, "He who conceals his disease cannot expect to be cured," it true. If we don't own it, we can do nothing about it.
Taking ownership fuels personal responsibility and challenges stigma. Have a conversation with your boy friend and girl friend about condom use and testing? If you care enough about each other to lay in bed together, then you should care enough to go get tested together and honestly, use condoms without judgments about what he/she may or may not be doing behind your back. Just understand that in the 21st century, shit happens and you need to be as prepared as you can be.
If we take ownership we challenge stigma. Sisters and brothers should go get tested together. Taking ownership is having that conversation within the family. If you have an infected family member call them, have that conversation about how you can honestly support them. People with HIV/AIDS need more than prayer.
Take ownership, have educational programs in our churches, ask your pastor. What harm could that do? He/she may surprise you. All of our organizations should be talking about HIV/AIDS on a regular basis. The more we talk, the more we put to shame stigma. Black folks have never been this small. The things that affect our community, we have tackled them head on. We cannot allow the history of Stigma in this country fuel how we address this issue, to do so is condemning a generation of people to death. We are better and greater than HIV/AIDS and we can show by fighting stigma at its core. I Am My Brothers/Sisters Keeper! Change we only come because we decide to may it so!
Post Script! Follow National Black AIDS Day on Twitter @NatBlackAIDSDay .... And their website is http://www.nationalblackaidsday.org Like their Facebook Fan Page...
