Loop21 Campaign to fight AIDS-Wake up Aware

Loop 21 partners the great basketball player and businessman Earvin Magic Johnson to raise our awareness about HIV/AIDS during the summer months. Do something to save the youth from this disease.

I remember while sorting magazines at the Post Office, the day a co-worker stated AIDS came from Africans having sex with apes. That was back in the 80's, and today folks are still talking about the cause of AIDS and how to prevent it. Later a African-American female doctor during a POWER conference warned women about a growing trend, the down low brothers dating sistas. Not knowing who your man was sleeping with could increase a woman risk of a deadly sexual disease, AIDS. And by the 90's , a sex instructor informed a class that the African-American community had the largest incidents of AIDS. Bite.

It was apparent that the need to get information about AIDS out in the community was needed in the African-American community and misinformation about the disease would be reaching the community faster than the scientic information. Today more information is available for folks like my co-worker and instructor. It is important for anyone regardless of race to understand that engaging in unprotected sexual activity could lead to dead sentence.

Become informed and get tested.



And once tested never again engage in unprotected sexual behavior.



SISTA (Sisters Informing Sisters About Topics on AIDS), a social-skills training intervention in which peer facilitators help African American women at highest risk reduce their risky sexual behaviors.


Many Men, Many Voices (3MV), an STD/HIV prevention intervention for gay men of color that addresses cultural and social norms, sexual relationship dynamics, and the social influences of racism and homophobia.


POL (Popular Opinion Leader), which identifies, enlists, and trains key opinion leaders to encourage safer sexual norms and behaviors within their social networks. POL has been adapted for African American MSM and shown to be effective in that population.
Healthy Relationships, a small-group intervention for men and women living with HIV/AIDS.

WILLOW (Women Involved in Life Learning from Other Women), to be disseminated in 2007, is a small-group, skills-training intervention for women living with HIV. WILLOW enhances awareness of the risky behaviors associated with HIV transmission, discredits myths regarding HIV prevention for people living with HIV, teaches communication skills in negotiating safer sex, and reinforces the benefits of consistent condom use. WILLOW also teaches women how to recognize healthy and unhealthy relationships, discusses the effect of abusive partners on safer sex, and provides information about local shelters for women in abusive relationships.