In preparation
for National HIV Testing Day, African-American celebrities
will take part in the second annual "Test 1 Million"
HIV/AIDS awareness campaign on Friday, June 27, in Los
Angeles. Celebrity participants will hold a press
conference about the free HIV screening available
and will themselves be tested for HIV. The event takes
place 8:30 a.m. to noon at the offices of the Los Angeles
Sentinel newspaper at 3800 Crenshaw Blvd.
"Test 1 Million"
is a call to action for 1 million black Americans to
get screened for HIV by December 1 (World AIDS Day).
AIDS is the
leading cause of death for black women ages 25-34, and it is
estimated that up to 46% of black gay men may already be
infected with HIV. According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, there are more
than 260,000 people in the U.S. infected with HIV who
don't know their serostatus.
Celebrities
include Eric "Lil E" Wright (son of gangsta rapper
Eazy E, who died of AIDS complications), Jimmy Jean-Louis
(Heroes), Tasha Smith (Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get
Married), Coolio, Harold Perrineau (Lost),
Al Reynolds, Darius McCrary (Family Matters),
Erica Hubbard (Lincoln Heights), Oren Williams
(Lincoln Heights), Zachary Williams (Roswell,
The Parkers), Nicole Lyons (the first female
to race professionally in the NHRA Pro Stock and NASCAR
Busch Series), recording artist Bobby Tinsley, Brian
White (The Family Stone, Stomp the Yard, and The
Game Plan), NBA veteran Doug Christie
and his wife Jackie, Terrell Tilford (The Guiding
Light), Victoria Platt-Tilford, and singer Jody
Watley.
Testing sites in
other communities can be located by logging on to www.blackaids.org.
(The
Advocate)
