It’s almost time to Rock the Red Pump as National Women and Girls Aids Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is quickly approaching on March 10th. Since I founded BCG I have been a big supporter of Karyn and Luuvie at The Red Pump Project and all that they do. In Atlanta, African-American women account for 87% of all women with AIDS. As women across the country recognize National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10, The Red Pump Project has teamed up with the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to lead activities for the city of Atlanta. The special event titled, Cupcakes & Condoms, is a signature program of The Red Pump Project that puts a sweet spin on an educational town hall will take place on March 8 at the Buckhead Bottle Bar and Bistro from 2:00–4:30 p.m. Attendees will be treated to complimentary desserts while engaging in much-needed conversations around advocating for their bodies and taking the right steps to preventing the transmission of HIV and other STIs.
Supporters of Cupcakes & Condoms include local businesses Fab’rik, Buckhead Bottle Bar and Bistro, The Corner Bakery, Taliah Waajid Natural Hair Care Products, and the Greater Than AIDS campaign. At the event, women will have the opportunity to talk to health professionals and peer educators and engage in dialogue with four women living with HIV. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation will provide free and confidential HIV testing onsite.
While sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect people of all races, ages, and sexual orientations, STIs take an especially heavy toll on African Americans, particularly young African American women and men. According to the Centers for Disease Control, blacks represent just 14 percent of the U.S. population, however they account for almost half of people living with HIV in the U.S. (46 percent, or an estimated 545,000 persons), as well as nearly half of new infections each year (44 percent, or an estimated 21,200 infections).
The intended outcome of Cupcakes & Condoms is to spark a dialogue where women will be empowered to negotiate safer sex as a prevention option, to know their status, and to make positive choices about their bodies. Red Pump will coordinate similar events to commemorate NWGHAAD in the following cities: Charlotte, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. To learn more about The Red Pump Project, visit RedPump.org.
