Fifty-two percent of Buffalonians who die from AIDS are African American, and according to the members of the Black Student Union, the more people who know that fact, the better.
"We're trying to shed light about diseases that affect the African American community, especially AIDS, where African Americans are one of the highest races affected," said Simone Hicks, president of the Black Student Union.
Aiming to increase awareness of the diseases that affect the black community, the BSU along with the NAACP and Omega Psi Phi pooled their energy and resources on Tuesday for a health fair in the Student Union in the spirit of Black History Month.
Event organizers offered free and confidential HIV testing, with results available on the spot, and with more than 30 students taking the initiative to get tested, the overwhelming message of the health fair seemed to be heard loud and clear.
"A lot of people in America, especially the youth, are suffering from HIV, so it's just so important to get yourself tested," said Sharee Hereford, vice president of the UB NAACP. "We felt like we needed to take a special time out to raise awareness, to give information to young people on how to protect themselves."
Awareness was the word of the day, and organizers promoted safe sex by not only distributing condoms, but by going so far as to offer on-stage demonstrations on how to properly use them.
Along with the wealth of information available on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, pamphlets were distributed regarding other illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to heart disease.
"You look at students at UB, with the pressure they're under, something like high blood pressure can be an issue," said Kareem Youngblood, president of UB's NAACP. "We're trying to get out information on all the various diseases, all the things that affect the youth of all races."
According to Youngblood, the health fair drew more interested students than expected, a good sign for both the collective goal of greater awareness and the organizers' efforts to raise money for the American Heart Association.
"The BSU is here to represent African Americans on campus, but also to bring attention to things on campus and in the community that are important to African Americans, and obviously education on health issues like these are extremely important," said Kerianne Marshall, BSU community chair, referring to a chart that noted 72 percent of AIDS victims are black worldwide.
The health fair, however, was only a small part of the many festivities and events in the works for Black History Month.
"This is all a part of founders week for us, and (Wednesday) is actually Founder's Day," Youngblood said. "We'll be set up from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. again, giving away some stuff, free popcorn, things like that."
Also on tap for Black History Month are Harlem Night, which will celebrate the Harlem Renaissance on Saturday, and Black Explosion: A Red Carpet Event, on Feb. 26.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
