Are people that tired of listening to and reporting about AIDS? I know it’s a drag to keep bringing it up but…
I’m wondering if I hadn’t gone to last night’s meeting of Imagine Flatbush 2030 – if anyone else would have brought up the issue of AIDS. I did get to meet Gretchen Maneval (Director of Brooklyn College’s Center for the Study of Brooklyn), who seemed equally concerned, after insisting on addressing my concerns with the larger group. If the current demographic trends (increasing Caribbean, African, South-east Asian, Asian, Arabic-Speaking & Eastern European immigrants from lower income brackets) continue, with the existing lack of proper and adequate AIDS related services and education in Greater Flatbush and the NYC Metro Area (as an educator, I’ve personally witnessed too many parents from these cultures choosing to have their children “Opt Out” of an already lackluster NYC AIDS Education & Prevention Curriculum), we could see the rate of HIV infection surpassing those of Sub-Saharan Africa in less than a decade. The rate of HIV infection among the Orthodox Jewish community is also the City’s best kept secret. LGBTQ adolescents are totally ignored in this “new” NYC HIV/AIDS High School curriculum. Not even a mention.
Should I mention that the level of homophobia in this community is palpable?
Yes, I would love a cultural center in Flatbush so artists, like myself, would not have to export their talents. Of course, affordable and safe housing has always been one of the quality of life issues I’ve found relevant to sustainability. Sure, I would rather go to a family-owned restaurant (define family) than a Chili’s for dinner. Yes I would gladly participate and help organize local cultural events like a Junction Unction, but if half of the neighborhood is dying due to ignorance and City agency ineffacacies, hindsight in 2020 will be too late. Haven’t we learned from our NYC HIV/AIDS & long-term surviving activist communities (ACT-UP, Brooklyn AIDS Task Force, etc.) that education is the key to prevention? Abstinence is a pipedream (we know how well that has prevented under-aged pregnancies in our area). Informed decisions about safer-sex behaviours is the key to a healthier tomorrow. Oh yeah… and cycling to work and home-grown terrace tomatoes and basil.
© Estate of Keith Haring
This image was altered for the faint of heart.
