AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observed on January 18 by participating in MLK parades and hosting free HIV awareness and testing events in almost a dozen U.S. cities across the country, including Los Angeles, CA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Miami, FL; Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Cleveland, OH; Biloxi, MS; Jackson, MS; Columbia, SC; Dallas, TX; and Ft. Worth, TX.

As African American and Latino communities continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS in the United States, AHF advocates and its MLK parade contingents will continue to promote the message that “AIDS Is A Civil Rights Issue” and that access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS should be a universal human right. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African Americans account for 44% of all people with HIV/AIDS in the United States, yet only account for 12% of the population. Latinos account for 21% of all new HIV infections nationwide, yet only represent 16% of the U.S. population.

“One of the most enduring legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. is the way he encouraged everyday citizens to take a stand in their communities for social justice and equal access to jobs, economic opportunity, housing and health care,” said Christopher Johnson, chair of the AHF Black AIDS Crisis Taskforce (ABACT). “Despite the strides we’ve made in many important socioeconomic areas, statistics show that HIV/AIDS is ravaging black and brown families from coast to coast today, especially in the Southeast where stigma and lack of access to care remain major factors to overcome. From the streets of Atlanta to the halls of Congress, we must keep pressure on our local, state and national elected leaders to direct needed funding and resources to those who are on the frontlines in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the communities of color.”

Disproportionately high numbers of HIV/AIDs cases among communities of color may be caused by several factors, including:

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