BET's Rap-It-Up Brings its Award-Winning HIV/AIDS Campaign to Springfield, IL on April 12

BET's Rap-It-Up Brings its Award-Winning HIV/AIDS Campaign to Springfield, IL on April 12

BET's Gerard Henry Hosts Rap-It-Up Teen Forum Featuring Performances by Canton Jones, Lisa McClendon and Izzy

WASHINGTON, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- BET's Rap-It-Up, the cable network's award-winning national HIV/AIDS public awareness initiative, brings its campaign to Springfield to host a teen health forum at the Springfield Hilton Hotel located on 700 E. Adams Street on Wednesday, April 12 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Partnering with Rap-It-Up for the community effort will be the Illinois Department of Health's Center for Minority Health Services and youth HIV/AIDS organization, Brothers And Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS (BASUAH).

The Rap-It-Up teen health forum will address the social issues, sexual behavior and attitudes impacting today's teens; and the rise of HIV/AIDS in the urban community. BET's Gerard Henry, host of BET's gospel program LIFT EVERY VOICE, will serve as the forum moderator, and forum panelists will include AIDS activist Denise Stokes, Center for Minority Health Representatives and peer educators. Following the forum will be performances featuring Grammy Award winner Canton Jones, gospel phenomenon Izzy, and soultress Lisa McClendon. There will also be free HIV testing administered by the "Wellness On Wheels" mobile unit and various community-related exhibit booths on display for event attendees.

The Rap-It-Up teen forum will conclude a line-up of local community activities dedicated to raising HIV/AIDS awareness including the "Living In A New Season" benefit concert at the Decatur Civic Center hosted by BET's own Gerard Henry on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Slated to perform are Grammy Award winner Canton Jones, 2003 American Idol finalist George Huff, Dove nominee Rachael Lampa, Stellar Award winners and Grammy-nominated New Direction, the University of Illinois Black Chorus, Springfield's Jones Family Singers and Lisa McClendon to name a few.

Today's disturbing statistics have shown that the state of Illinois ranks number nine of top ten states with the highest number of African Americans estimated to be living with AIDS. Additionally, African Americans account for the most AIDS diagnoses, people estimated to be living with AIDS, and HIV- related deaths than any other racial group within the United States. Although African-American teens (ages 13 - 19) represent only 15 percent of U.S. teens, they accounted for 66 percent of newly-reported AIDS cases in 2003.

"The disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on the African-American community has fueled Rap-It-Up's efforts to educate communities about its deadly transmission," said Vikki Johnson, BET's Manager of Public Affairs. "Through pro-social campaigns such as Rap-It-Up, BET provides the information and resources necessary to raise HIV awareness, and to help young adults change their sexual behavior and hopefully eradicate this deadly trend."

Since its launch in 1997, BET's Rap-It-Up Campaign has tested over 6,000 people nationwide for HIV infection; managed over one million calls to the Rap-It-Up toll-free hotline; hosted community teen forums for over 9,000 youth; and reached millions of viewers via HIV-related programming on the BET Network, including award-winning news specials, documentaries and public service announcements.

Media Opportunities: Coverage of Rap-It-Up Health Forum and Performances;
Interview & Photo Opportunities with BET's Gerard
Henry, BET Rap-It-Up Representatives, Forum
Panelists, Performing Talent and Event Partners.

ABOUT RAP-IT-UP

Since 1997, the Kaiser Family Foundation and BET: Black Entertainment Television have partnered on an extensive public education campaign to inform young people about sexual health issues, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). The partnership includes special programming, public service advertisements (PSAs), online content on bet.com, and a free resource and referral service. In 2000, the campaign launched a grassroots initiative to complement the on-air and online components of Rap- It-Up. Program elements include teen forums, mobile HIV testing events, and a middle and high school curriculum on HIV/AIDS. The campaign was nominated for an Emmy for Best National Public Service Announcement in 2002 and 2001, and has received numerous other awards, including the 2002 Cable Positive POP Award for Outstanding Newsmagazine Series, the 2002 CTPAA Joel Berger Award, the 2002 NAACP Image Award, the 2002 Academy of Television Arts & Science TV Cares "Ribbon of Hope" Award, and the 2002 NBACA Community Service Award.

ABOUT BET

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA; VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 80 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; and BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ring tones, games and video content for wireless devices.

Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

CONTACT: Lyntina Townsend of BET (Black Entertainment Television),
+1-202-608-2745, lyntina.townsend@bet.net

Web site: http://www.bet.com/

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