BET, Black AIDS Institute, Celebrities and Political Leaders Sound Alarm With Release of AIDS in Black Face: 25 Years of an Epidemic

BET, Black AIDS Institute, Celebrities and Political Leaders Sound Alarm With Release of AIDS in Black Face: 25 Years of an Epidemic

New York Press Conference on Monday, June 5 at 10 A.M. ET as Nation Marks
25th Anniversary of First HIV/AIDS Diagnosis in the United States

It may well be one of the most ominous milestones observed in the United States -- the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS on American soil. As the nation pauses with both concern and guarded optimism about prospects for curing the disease, BET Networks, the Black AIDS Institute and a long list of committed key Black leaders and celebrities are banding together to issue a new call-to-action with the release of AIDS in Black Face:

25 Years of an Epidemic.

This sweeping analytical study penned under the guidance of the Black AIDS Institute looks at how a strange illness among five white gay patients at University of California Los Angeles became the defining issue of our time, and its disproportionate impact on African Americans. The report features the testimonies of 25 African Americans who have witnessed the devastation of the AIDS epidemic from the frontline. They are people who in ways both large and small have decided to change the course of the epidemic.

America's ability to defeat the AIDS epidemic will be determined by our ability to stop it in Black America. The AIDS epidemic in Black America can only be stopped by developing a national mass Black response to the disease. In addition to the report's release nationwide, a newly-mobilized call-to- action and declaration of commitment will be unveiled to re-ignite efforts around awareness, prevention, research, medical treatment and the pursuit of a cure. Celebrities from across entertainment genres will join the effort along side leaders from the political, corporate and national organization circles.

Here are details about this all-important press conference:

WHAT: Press Conference Unveiling AIDS in Black Face: 25 Years of an
Epidemic; and Announcement of New Mobilization and Call-to-Action
to Address On-Going Issues of HIV/AIDS

WHEN: Monday, June 5, 2006 @ 10 a.m. ET (Media check-in and set-up
begins at 9 a.m. ET)

WHERE: Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street - Room 3AB
New York, NY 10019

WHO: Danny Glover, Actor, Activist and Humanitarian
Bruce Gordon, President - NAACP
Congressman Charles Rangel (D-New York)
Delegate Donna M. Christenson (D-U.S. Virgin Islands)
Kelli Richardson Lawson, Executive Vice President - BET Networks
George Curry, Editor-in-Chief, National Newspaper Publishers
Association
Jerry Lopes, President & CEO - Sheridan Broadcasting Network
Pernessa Seele, AIDS Activist and Founder - Balm in Gilead
Phill Wilson, Executive Director - Black AIDS Institute

RSVP: Michael Lewellen, BET - (202) 608-2003; michael.lewellen@bet.net
Alvin Starks, Open Society Institute - (212) 548-0600;
astarks@sorosny.org

CONTACT: Michael Lewellen of BET (Black Entertainment Television), +1-202-608-2003, michael.lewellen@bet.net; or Alvin Starks, +1-212-548-0600, astarks@sorosny.org, of Open Society Institute.

PRNewswire -- June 1

Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

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

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Profile: intent