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September 27, 2008

Intergenerational Art & Public Health HIV/AIDS Prevention Event

Background Information:

The idea for this event was originally brought to in April 2008 to The Great Idea Exchange, sponsored by Juxtaposition Arts and the University of Minnesota College of Design with implementation funding from the University’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. Several organizations brought forward ideas for improving life in North Minneapolis through community art. Sidewalks Saving Lives is the idea that was voted to be implemented by the community with the agreement that the other community agencies would support the winning idea.

More HIV/AIDS information:

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (June 2006),

“African-Americans’ share of the U.S. AIDS burden has never been more disproportionate to their representation in the total population. In 2004, Blacks accounted for just 12.2 percent of the U.S. population but 49.3 percent of estimated new AIDS cases. At the end of 2004, it was estimated that 42.9 percent of people living with AIDS in the United States were Black, reflecting a continued increase over previous years. The AIDS rate among adults (the number of people living with AIDS per 100,000 population) was 72.1 for Blacks, compared with 17.1 for the total U.S. population.” (3)

The neighborhood served by Kwanzaa Community Church is a microcosm of these national disparities. Young people of color living in the heart of north Minneapolis are at greater risk of infection than virtually any other demographic group in the state. Their ethnicity, their place of residence, their age, and their low income are all risk factors. Some pertinent facts from the Minnesota Department of Health:

Ethnicity:

Although African-Americans represent only 3.4% of Minnesota’s population, they account for 22% of the state’s adult and adolescent HIV infections.(4)
African-Americans have the highest proportion of persons infected with HIV/AIDS among all native-born ethnic groups in Minnesota, more than ten times the rate of white Minnesotans.(5)

Urban residence:

Hennepin County has the highest proportion of persons living with HIV/AIDS (265 per 100,000 residents) of all Minnesota counties.(6)
More than one-third of reported HIV cases in Minnesota are among persons living in Minneapolis.(7)

Youth:

Over time, young people between 13 and 24 years of age have accounted for an increasing share of new HIV/AIDS infections in Minnesota, increasing from 10% in 1990 to 17% in 2005. (8)
“Persons of color account for a disproportionate number of new HIV infections among [Minnesota] adolescents and young adults. Among young men, of new HIV infections diagnosed between 2004 and 2006, African Americans accounted for 28%....Among young women,…African Americans [accounted for] 32%.”(9)

Income:

Low income people are at greater risk of HIV infection,(10) and African Americans are more likely to be poor than any other demographic group in Minnesota.(11)
Unstable housing(12) and incarceration, (13) both associated with low income and both disproportionately characterizing the lives of Minnesota African Americans, are also associated with a higher incidence of HIV/AIDS.

(1) The Balm in Gilead, AIDS Crisis in Communities of Color Prompts Demand for National Plan to Fight HIV/AIDS, Press Release, August 25, 2008

(2) Minnesota Department of Health, HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Mortality Tables 2006. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/stats/pmtables.html#table

(3) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, African-Americans and HIV/AIDS in the United States. http://hab.hrsa.gov/history/AfricanAmericans/

(4) Minnesota AIDS Project, Profile of HIV Epidemic in Minnesota 2005, citing Minnesota Department of Health data. http://www.mnaidsproject.org/pdf/pubpol/HIVprofile2005.pdf

(5) Minnesota Department of Health, HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Mortality Tables 2006. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/stats/pmtables.html#table

(6) Minnesota Department of Health, HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Mortality Tables 2006. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/stats/pmtables.html#table3

(7) Minnesota AIDS Project, Profile of HIV Epidemic in Minnesota 2005, citing Minnesota Department of Health data. http://www.mnaidsproject.org/pdf/pubpol/HIVprofile2005.pdf

(8) Minnesota AIDS Project, Profile of HIV Epidemic in Minnesota 2005, citing Minnesota Department of Health data. http://www.mnaidsproject.org/pdf/pubpol/HIVprofile2005.pdf

(9) Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota HIV Surveillance Report 2006. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/stats/inctext.html#geo

(10) U.S. Centers for Disease Control (June 2007), “Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS among African Americans.” http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/aa/resources/factsheets/aa.htm.

(11) Minnesota State Demographic Center (2007), “Income Distribution Trends in Minnesota.” http://www.demography.state.mn.us/documents/IncomeDistributionTrendsinMinnesota.pdf

(12)Fullilove, R.E. (November 2006). African Americans, Health Disparities and HIV/AIDS. National Minority AIDS Council, p. 7.

(13) Fullilove, R.E. (November 2006). African Americans, Health Disparities and HIV/AIDS. National Minority AIDS Council, p. 7.