Racial Justice

As people of color disproportionately suffer the brunt of the HIV epidemic in the United States, HIV is a racial justice issue as well as a public health issue. In 2010, African Americans accounted for an estimated 44% of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents despite representing only 12% of the national population. In 2009, Latinos accounted for 20% of new HIV infections while representing approximately 16% of the total population. At some point in their lifetimes, an estimated one in 16 black men and one in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV. For people of color living with HIV, racial discrimination diminishes the quality of medical care received. Discrimination and socio-economic factors linked to race create additional obstacles to accessing the quality health care, housing, and education necessary for HIV treatment and prevention.

This HIV Policy Resource Bank category contains materials that analyze HIV as it implicates issues of race and racial justice, and related issues such as stigma, gender bias, homophobia, drug use, imprisonment, and inequalities in health care.