Editorial
opinions/editorials
World AIDS Day – The Goal
December 1 is World AIDS Day. It’s a day of action for those who are fighting AIDS, living with AIDS and survivors of those who lost their lives to AIDS. On this day, many will do publicly what this year’s theme shows they have been doing privately throughout the year: “Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation.” The work it will take to assure a world of an AIDS-Free generation will require participation far and wide. Legislators must make it a budget priority free from cuts due to a weakened economy. Funding must remain steady for AIDS organizations to do outreach that’s broad and wide. Not only for AIDS services for the generations who are living longer and healthier with the disease, but outreach to the uninformed adults and youth who still haven’t a clue about acquiring AIDS or steps needed to prevent spreading the disease to others. Schools must educate young people about their sexual health, which should serve only as a supplement to what parents should be teaching them first. Physicians must ask, if not required, that their patients take an annual AIDS/HIV test, and preachers must endorse and support AIDS ministries while immersing their sermons with anti-stigma messages. Most importantly, individuals must accept and assume personal responsibility for their part in ending the world AIDS crisis. The day isn’t only about the work, but it’s also about celebrating. More people are living with the disease while less are dying from it. More people are being tested for AIDS and seeking treatment if they’re positive. More treatment and prevention services are available including a home testing AIDS kit while medicine is moving us closer to an AIDS vaccine. And, more people are continuing to fight to rid the world of AIDS. We’re not there yet, which is why the United Nations has come up with a global strategy for universal access to AIDS treatment around the globe by 2015. UNAIDS strategy includes: yy Sexual transmission of HIV reduced by half, including among young people, men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of sex work; yy Vertical transmission of HIV eliminated, and AIDS-related maternal mortality reduced by half; yy All new HIV infections prevented among people who use drugs; yy Universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment; yy TB deaths among people living with HIV reduced by half; yy People living with HIV and households affected by HIV are addressed in all national social protection strategies and have access to essential care and support; yy Countries with punitive laws and practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses reduced by half; yy HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence eliminated in half of the countries that have such restrictions; yy HIV-specific needs of women and girls are addressed in at least half of all national HIV responses; yy Zero tolerance for gender-based violence. It is an ambitious goal, but realistic and achievable.
Yet, Another Chapter Closes
Another major chapter in the epic Civil Rights movement has closed with the loss of Lawrence Guyot who died on Friday, Nov. 23 at age 73 following a long illness. Guyot, described by some as an “unsung hero”, vehemently fought for the right to vote as a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and as director of the 1964 Freedom Summer Project. He also chaired the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party where he spoke out on voting rights at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. He continued to push for voter participation by encouraging everyone he knew to go to the polls to vote. A champion to the bitter end – Guyot cast his ballot early this year – long before the Nov. 6 general election took place and encouraged others to follow suit. He was known for being a beacon of encouragement and a source of motivation to young people who he challenged to fight for principle rather than convenience. Guyot’s death is a painful reminder that the great heroes of the Civil Rights era are almost extinct and that their legacy is quickly fading. The verbal abuse, arrests, beatings and deaths that they endured – was not intended so that we could live the luxurious life – and forget the tremendous sacrifices that they made to get us to this point. We can expect the dedication of an edifice to be named in Guyot’s honor soon, but it’s more important for us to live our lives in gratitude and remembrance of the life that he sacrificed for those who had no voice and the least among us.
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Henderson Back on the Hot Seat!
Dorothy Rowley’s front-page article “Henderson’s Plan to Shutter Schools Ignites Fury,” November 28, 2012, brought to the forefront some very important issues facing DCPS students and especially their parents. While many of us want to blame Chancellor Kaya Henderson, she is just the mouthpiece to move a well-devised plan forward. For years we have allowed a school system to abuse our students at certain schools while pushing them out into the world ill prepared, and then having other schools with strong parental support and good teachers function with a sense of educational consistency. Why are so many parents buying this charter school plan hook, line, and sinker? I’ll tell you why: because they think a charter school will do something for their children that they as parents should be doing: supporting the students and their schools. Look at the studies; charters aren’t
teaching their students any better than the public schools are. But unfortunately, they are buying the message that charter schools are better. In a few years the D.C. school system will once again be a segregated school system, but this time segregated by class. The new residents of the District of Columbia aren’t enrolling their children in charter schools; no, they are waiting for their neighborhood schools, and believe me when I say they will get them. Those parents will want good public schools and will do whatever it takes to ensure that they have them. I think the last paragraph in Ms. Rowley’s article tells it all! Benny K. Sylvester Washington, D.C.
Yes! Organic to Shutter Doors East of the River
of the River Store,” in the November 28, 2012 edition by Michelle Phipps-Evans. Although I couldn’t afford to buy all of my groceries there, I did like trying some of the variety of products it offered, especially the fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables. This is just another reason for us on this side of the river to get the Walmart stores; we need places to shop for fresh foods. If Safeway, Whole Foods, or even Kmart want to build stores over here, I say come on with them; the more the merrier! There is something to be said about having the opportunity to stop on the way home from work and pick up some fresh food in your neighborhood. That’s a choice in terms of urban living that everyone should have. Leon Mathis Washington, D.C.
I was so sorry to read that the Yes! Market was closing, “Yes! Organic to Close East
Readers' Mailbox
The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer.com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you. The Washington Informer
Nov. 29, 2012 - Dec. 5, 2012
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