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NATIONAL
CONCLAVE
ON
HIV/AIDS
POLICY
FOR
BLACK
CLERGY
OCTOBER
9,
2007
Clergy Statement
In the spirit of our historic role of
advancing prophetic social justice ministry, Black
clergy are stepping forward to play a stronger
leadership role in advocating for theologically sound
HIV/AIDS public policy. Working with the National Black
Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA), we are determined
to live up to the biblical mandate that calls us to be
“the light of the world.” With faithfulness to this
calling, we must compassionately embrace those who are
infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Through life
affirming ministry, we are committed to caring for the
physical, mental and spiritual needs of all people in
our communities whose lives are being devastated by this
insidious disease.
Just as African-American clergy fervently
came together 50 years ago to fight for civil rights, we
are banning together today to bring an end to HIV/AIDS
and its potential to obliterate our community. To
combat this plague, which is claiming five to seven
thousand lives per day worldwide and is destroying Black
families and killing Black men and women at a
disproportionate rate of genocidal magnitude:
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We will aggressively seek to have every person under
the sphere of our influence tested for HIV in order
to know their status.
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We will promote HIV/AIDS awareness to insure that
all Black clergy serving in our denominations and
other congregations are equipped to address issues
related to this disease in a factual and
scientifically sound manner.
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We will use the ABC/D model as a behavioral
guideline for prevention initatives:
To ensure that we are jointly using our
resources to influence and impact public policy, our
proposed legislative action, the National HIV/AIDS
Elimination Act, is as follows:
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The National Conclave on HIV/AIDS for Black Clergy
calls upon the President, Congress and Corporate
America to declare the HIV/AIDS crisis in the
African American community a “public health
emergency.” We call on the Secretary of Health and
Human Services to use emergency authority to
redirect resources to address this emergency.
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We believe the United States should develop a
National AIDS Plan to address the treatment, care,
prevention, research, and supportive service needs
of Americans living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS.
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We believe that an integral component of any
National AIDS Plan should be targeted legislation
that specifically addresses the disproportionate
impact of HIV/AIDS on the African Americans.
Therefore, we call on Congress and the
Administration to endorse and pass the National
HIV/AIDS Elimination Act – legislation that will
mobilize action across departments of government and
coordinate programs and funding across the various
agencies within the Department of Health and Human
Services. The Act will include measurable goals,
timetables, and specific objectives designed to
eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As a part of the
National AIDS Plan, the Elimination Act will
highlight and address the key structural drivers of
the AIDS epidemic like poverty, low-literacy,
stigma, unemployment, incarceration, racial
disparities, and other structural drivers of the
epidemic in the United States.
As we go forward from this historic
gathering, we are determined to stand together in a
renewed effort to realize the day when the “face of
AIDS” will cease to be the faces of the Black community.
God Bless and Keep the Faith,
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Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III
Chairman, NBLCA; Conclave Co-Chair
Pastor, The Abyssinian Baptist Church
New York, NY
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Bishop T.D. Jakes
Conclave Co-Chair
Senior Pastor, The Potter’s House
Dallas, TX |
