Noted . Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Volume 23 . Number 08 August 23.2008 Printed on Recycled Paper FREE
fighting
AIDS
infections each year, a full 53 percent of
them occur in gay/bisexual men and men
who have sex with men
(MSM).
Raleigh and Greensboro targeted well-liked
and influential young men in gay nightclubs.
q-notes.com
leaders” and use ineir siaius as iniiueniiai
men in young communities of color to
encourage safe-sex practices, HIV testing
and risk reduction to their peers.
Johnson said
with
by Matt Comer
Q-Notes staff
I n early August, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) released
revised figures on the number of new U.S.
HIV infections each year. The updated statis
tics revealed an increase of more than 16,000
cases over the agency’s previous estimate of
40,000 new infections annually — even
though rates declined for injection drug users
and heterosexuals.
The stunning news was met with a flurry
of media coverage. .
LGBT activists and AIDS service organiza
tions (ASOs) immediately took notice of the
fact that the CDC said the burden of new HIV
infections is “greatest among gay and bisexual
men of all races.” Of the totd 56,300 new HIV
Youth and gay/bi men
Youth advo
cacy groups also received a wake-
up call.'According to the report, peo
ple age 29 and under represented 34 percent of
new HIV infections, the highest of any age
group. The LGBT-focused National Youth
Advocacy Coalition said the numbers indicate
that “existing public education efforts surround
ing HIV prevention must be updated to be more
relevant and effective at reaching youth.”
In 2005, Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP)
was one of three ASOs chosen to operate a
CDC pilot program testing the waters for a
“gay opinion leader” prevention program.
With $1 milhon in hand, ASOs in Charlotte,
They provided them with training and educa
tion on HIV and risk reduction. The men were
then charged with encouraging their peers to
take HIV tests, use condoms and play safe.
MAP later created their own proposal for a
similar project and D-UP! was born. Begun in
2006, the four-year program seeks to “recruit
and train influential African-American men and
men of color ages 13-24 and take them through
a risk reduction program,” D-UP! Program
Coordinator Darren Johnson told Q-Notes.
After they’ve completed the program, par-
are bearing the burden of the epidemic “popular opinion
many of their pro
gram participants are affiliated with
the “ballroom” scene — a sub-culture within
the larger LGBT community.
Some, like Dan Savage, a syndicated gay
columnist who writes about sex, have criti
cized the CDC pilot program for their use of
gift cards, which were given to the “gay opin
ion leaders” after completing their training.
Savage called the program “completely
retarded” and questioned results from CDC
surveys collected from 300 men, which
claimed a 32 percent reduction in unprotected
anal intercourse and a 40 percent reduction in
see Modem on 13
LGBTs will make their mark at Dem convention
N. C. will send six LGBT
delegates, S.C. will send none
by Collier Rutledge
Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When state
delegations head to Denver, Colo., for the Democratic National
Convention Aug. 25-28, they’ll be bringing with them more rep
resentation from the LGBT community than ever before.
According to the National Stonewall Democrats, overall
LGBT participation in the quadrennial Democratic convention
will increase 27 percent from the 2004 convention.
Stonewall said more than 350 LGBT people will attend the
convention and 277 of them will officially represent their state
and local parties as elected delegates. In 2004, the group esti
mated only 282 LGBTs attended the convention. The LGBT pres
ence will represent approximately six percent of total conven
tion attendance.
North Carolina’s Ian Palmquist, executive director of the
Record-breaking
Pride Charlotte
boasts 10k
page 20
statewide advocacy group Equality North Carolina, and
Betsy Albright, a graduate student at Duke University, will be
among the six LGBT delegates representing Tar Heel
Democrats in Denver. South Carolina will send no LGBT del
egates this year.
“I strongly believe that we are at a turning point in our
country and that Obama and McCain represent two distinct
visions for our nation and for the role our nation plays in the
world,” Albright told Q-Notes.
“1 became an Obama supporter after living two years
abroad (Budapest, Hungary) where I was working on my dis-.
sertation [and] realized how far our image, our image as a
nation, our image as citizens, has fallen in the eyes of many
other countries. I think Obama has the ability to start to turn
this around, first by his desire to listen to others and to build
relationships with other nations.” ‘
Palmquist, who is also a pledged Obama delegate, described
this election season as “the most exciting and important elec
tion in a generation.”
“I wanted to be a part of it,” he said of his participation as
Anticipation
sc Pride gears up __
for largest yet !|!
page 21
a deligate. “I also want
ed to help ensure that
the LGBT community
is well-represented in
the party.”
Both Albright and
Palmquist intend to use
their time at the con
vention working to
bring awareness to
LGBT equality issues.
“I will be a voice
for full equality at
every opportunity at
the convention, and
will work with the
LGBT caucus to
ensure our issues are a
part of the convention,” Palmquist said
Albright added that
EqualityNC’s Ian Palmquist is a
pledged Obama delegate to the
Democratic National Convention.
see Gay Dems on 11
WWJD?
WNCparents push
for support
page 12