Erylene Piper Mandy, president and CEO of the Center for Cross Cultural Competence, drew parallels between Hurricane Katrina’s devastation and the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the African-American community during her keynote speech at the fifth annual San Diego African American World AIDS Day Conference held on Dec. 1 at the Handerly Hotel & Resort.

The conference was produced by Neighborhood Fundraising Network, Inc., in collaboration with the Kemet Coalition, Inc.

Piper Mandy called the African-American HIV/AIDS epidemic “Hurricane HIV,” and said African-Americans wouldn’t be so disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS if steps had been taken in advance to prepare the community. Piper Mandy compared the HIV/AIDS devastation to how the U.S. knew Katrina was approaching yet New Orleans simply did not have enough time to prepare.

“I’m trying to tell you that if you know in advance that a problem is coming of national proportions that you have some responsibility to organize and prepare so that the devastation is minimized,” Piper Mandy said. “HIV/AIDS is a national disaster on the level of Hurricane Katrina and on the level of 9/11.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and census data, African-Americans make up 12.3 percent of the U.S. population yet have accounted for 40 percent of the total AIDS cases diagnosed since the epidemic began.

Since 1986, African-Americans have had the highest rate of AIDS in San Diego County, according to the county’s 2004 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Report. The report stated African-Americans in 2003 had an AIDS rate of 36 cases per 100,000 compared to whites, who had a rate of 9 per 100,000.

Piper Mandy said HIV/AIDS and Katrina both impacted African-Americans in a similar manner. She said the epidemic has not impacted white Americans in the same way it has the African-American community.

“The African-American community is disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS the same way the African-American community was disproportionately affected by Hurricane Katrina, for the exact same reason: because the level of preparations for what we know is coming doesn’t quite reach the people it needs to reach,” she said. “National preparation for HIV/AIDS in the black community is merely nonexistent.”

Piper Mandy said a heavy emphasis on safe sex and condom use has worked in the gay white male community.

“I’m glad the gay white male community found out condoms would work. I’m delighted they were able to launch campaigns that would make sure that people would have access to condoms,” Piper Mandy said. “… My problem is that the African-American community is waiting on somebody else to come and solve the problem for us, and it ain’t going to happen…. The reality of it is that it is the African-American community that must develop culturally specific responses to HIV/AIDS.”

Piper Mandy illustrated another parallel with a story she saw on the news, which involved a black man stranded on the roof of a house in New Orleans. She said the man walked into the infested water to retrieve food from the National Guard on a boat, all of whom were wearing masks and anti-chemical suits. Piper Mandy compared the man’s disregard for his health to people having unprotected sex with the looming threat of HIV.

“They’re doing it because they need connection, and just like that man who was willing to step into that toxic water that might kill him tomorrow so he could eat, today our people are stepping into the toxic water of sexual relationships,” she said.

Piper Mandy said a handful of prominent people rallied behind Katrina relief efforts, but there weren’t enough of them. She said more prominent, older family members and the church must step forward to effectively deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African-American community.

“This is what you and I confront right now in ‘Hurricane HIV,’ and that is those who are in charge of the dissemination of the resources – those who are in charge of the way that the disease is approached in our community may not be the most effective people to deal with the problem,” Piper Mandy said.

She added that the homophobic mentality of the church must also be eliminated.

“You have to stop worrying about how people got it and start worrying about how people can get rid of it,” she said.

As the months pass since Katrina, the severity of the devastation seems to be forgotten, she said, and noted a similar complacency with the HIV/AIDS epidemic: “I’m telling you that the only way as African-Americans to handle this disease is to do better than we have done with racism…. Racism in this country must be fought on a daily basis. HIV in this country must also be fought on a daily basis, so the people who cannot save themselves are not doomed forever.”

Arvella Murray, conference co-chair and executive director of the Center for Social Support and Education (CSSE), received the Carole Norman, RN Community Service Award for her significant contributions in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic within the African-American community in San Diego. CSSE is a nonprofit community-based organization that targets African-Americans for adult literacy, computer literacy, health and HIV/AIDS education and prevention.

Norman lauded Murray for giving up a lucrative management consulting position to take on the role as executive director at CSSE, and for making it the successful nonprofit organization it is today.

“Oftentimes when we become successful, we keep promising ourselves that someday we’re going to give back,” Murray said. “I just want to save lives. I don’t get caught up in all the other stuff.”

The Reverend C. Dennis Williams received the Faith Based Humanitarian Service Award, and the California Wellness Foundation received the Exceptional Service Award for their second year of financial support for the conference.

The World AIDS Day Conference hosted 12 workshops conducted by multidisciplinary experts that addressed HIV/AIDS issues in communities of color. The workshops focused on the latest treatments and developments in vaccines and medical research, women’s health concerns, the roles of faith communities and the sociopolitical issues surrounding HIV in specific aspects of the African-American community.

One workshop addressed the role and responsibilities of men and women of African decent as they relate to community education, politics, planning and health issues. Another session examined how hepatitis B and C are silent killers for many people of color, and overviewed the interaction of HIV with the disease. Psychologist Neva Chauppette led a workshop addressing crystal methamphetamine abuse and risk behaviors related to HIV transmission.