This is such an important thing to write about! Among White people in the U.S., HIV has become very rare, and can almost be spoken of as a problem of the past. New infection rates in places like New York City are so low that public health authorities are realistically aiming for a zero rate. Not so in the rural South, where HIV rages as an ongoing epidemic - for several reasons.

First, access to health care is markedly lower for everyone in the rural South compared to cities, and especially compared to cities outside the South.

Second, access to health care is often strangled by racist policies. Think about the governors who refuse to expand Medicaid using no-strings-attached federal funds, for example.

Third: Stigma. Shame has always been a reason that people at risk for HIV don't get tested or treated for HIV. Given treatment turns HIV into a manageable chronic illness and prevents further spread of the virus, this is a really big deal. Of course, shame is fostered by homophobia within communities.

So, racism combined with homophobia largely explains why HIV/AIDS remains a public health crisis in parts of the U.S. We might not be able to do much about racist Republican leadership in the South, but we sure can battle the homophobia.

Thanks for writing about this!