February 1999

Commission Holds Hearings on Racism, AIDS, and the Church

Responding to resolution A046 of the General Convention, NEAC is cooperating with the Executive Council’s Commission on HIV/AIDS in holding a series of hearings to (1) examine in depth the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities of color, (2) clarify the role of racism in AIDS among these communities, and (3) identify specific actions that Episcopalians can take in response to HIV/AIDS. All members of the commission are also directors of NEAC. Hearings have now been held in Indianapolis (June 1998), Atlanta (October 1998), and Miami (January 1999).

Reports of decreasing deaths from AIDS do not reflect the rise of the epidemic among people of color. For instance, African-American and Latina women over the age of 13 comprised 80 percent of reported AIDS cases among women in 1997. AIDS is the third leading cause of death among all women ages 25 to 44, and the leading cause of death among African-Americans, both men and women, in this age group.

One speaker in Miami, commenting on the need for close cooperation among churches, said, “We are called to heal. This is an illness that needs healing.” She emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to prevention and for programs to build self-esteem in adults as well as children, challenging Episcopalians to take the lead and pointing out that Episcopal as well as other black churches have been slow to respond. Her solution: Get active laypeople to push the ministers.

Brenda Goode testifies before the Commission in Indianapolis

Brenda Goode testifies before the Commission in Indianapolis

Another speaker called on faith communities to “Dispel the myths. Sex is a normal function. There are no guilty. There are no innocent. This is a health care issue.” Among the services suggested in Miami that Episcopalian ministries could perform: Employment retraining; job placement for the previously disabled; adopting an AIDS service organization (while respecting its self-governance) to help it become more sophisticated in doing business; translation services; lobbying to change the visa regulations regarding HIV and immigration. Mostly, “You have to show compassion. You have to show love. We help with whatever they need.” One compliment to the Episcopal church: “We’re glad you guys are there. We hope you never stop.”

“The Haitian community is hurting,” said another speaker, because of the blame assigned to Haitians when the epidemic first began. As a result, denial is a problem, as are privacy issues.

The Atlanta hearings were held following a meeting of the state AIDS task force, which discussed HIV reporting; the NEAC board passed a resolution the next day in support of alternative identifiers. Georgia is in eighth place among the states in numbers of cumulative AIDS cases; 52.9% of those are African-American. In all states where hearings were held, the number of AIDS cases among women is rising.

Many of those testifying at all the hearings, in speaking of the need for faith community leaders to support AIDS programs, mentioned cultural resistance to open discussion of the problem. “If preachers don’t speak from pulpits, the epidemic won’t be slowed,” said one HIV positive black woman. “It’s still identified as a gay issue. The community doesn’t know about the rise in infection rates among women. The church has forgotten.”

She noted that support groups tend to be directed to substance abusers, though many more women now are being infected by heterosexual transmission. Commission member Bruce Garner commented, “The epidemic is sitting where it was ten years ago. Then it was a gay issue, and ‘not our problem’. Now it’s a minority issue, and ‘not our problem’.

One speaker in Atlanta anticipated comments in Miami, asking that faith communities re-examine their positions on sex: “Saying ‘it’s wrong’ will not stop it.” Another comment was that “A lot of us are learning about harm reduction as opposed to just saying ‘stop.’

The consensus so far is that racism by treatment providers was generally not an issue. “Complaints have gotten fewer,” was one comment. “Originally, doctors didn’t want to treat HIV/AIDS, some from bias but most because they just didn’t know how. It’s the same with ministers now.” But language remains a barrier.

“The churches aren’t dealing with substance abuse,” was one comment, but then, said another: “Health care workers aren’t dealing with the connection between substance abuse and HIV.”

It was agreed that a “clergy-to-clergy” approach was necessary to avoid political problems. Laypeople can encourage their own priests to reach out to colleagues reluctant to deal with HIV/AIDS in their congregations.

What works to really support people infected? Collaboration among service providers was a leading recommendation, as were support groups and education in schools as well as churches. Helping people with other parts of the “system,” even to filling out forms for surveys, was another suggestions: “When you’re dealing with survival issues every day, you don’t have time and energy for political action.” Tools for survival programs, from education and alternative therapies to legal issues and peer counseling, can be empowering.

It was perceived by people responding to Commission surveys as well as at the hearings that there is more encouragement for HIV-positive people in the white community than in the minority communities. More affluent, usually white, communities get more money for education programs; there is a desperate need especially for prevention education for minority teens.

What can we in the Episcopal Church do? The primary role recommended is to be an advocate for justice for the voiceless, both within and outside the church, by speaking out, for example, for reporting without name identifiers. “Faith communities can better respond by leaving their dogma and tracts at home and just being compassionate,” was one comment, and “The best thing faith communities can do is to stop avoiding the subject.”

Hearings will be held in March in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, at the invitation of Bishop Leo Frade, in June in Seattle, and in October in Dubois, Wyoming. If you would like to attend, please call NEAC for details: (800) 588-6628.