Black pastors step up in HIV/AIDS fight

Black ministers called on the federal government Tuesday to declare HIV/AIDS among blacks a public health emergency and proposed legislation to address the disease in their community.

Almost half of all new HIV diagnoses are among blacks. Black men were diagnosed with the disease at a rate eight times that of white men, while black women were diagnosed at a rate almost 23 times that of white women, according to 2005 figures, the most recent available, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The church leaders also pledged to promote HIV/AIDS testing and awareness among their congregations.

"Just as African-American clergy fervently came together 50 years ago to fight for civil rights, we are banding together today to bring an end to HIV/AIDS and its potential to obliterate our community," said Bishop T.D. Jakes, leader of the Dallas megachurch, The Potter's House.

Jakes spoke at a two-day conference of black clergy organized by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. The event drew more than 150 members of the clergy, politicians and medical professionals.

Ministers pledged to work with the Congressional Black Caucus on proposed legislation titled the National HIV/AIDS Elimination Act that they hope to introduce in Congress as early as January.

The act asks the president to declare HIV/AIDS among blacks a public health emergency, a declaration that would trigger the use of certain funds and resources against the disease, said commission president Debra Fraser-Howze.

Many conservative churchgoers are put off by the disease's association with gays, but Jakes said the emphasis needs to be on saving lives, not theological debates about homosexuality.

"Our focus right now is saving lives," he said. "Tomorrow we can save souls."