Gov. Rod Blagojevich's BASUAH ( Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS ) Project joined forces with hip-hop superstar Twista at Roosevelt University on Feb. 7 for BASUAH on Campus, a day of rap; hip-hop; spoken word poetry; and HIV/AIDS testing and information.
The event, held in conjunction with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day, featured day-long testing and awareness activities; live performances; a panel discussion with Art 'Chat Daddy' Sims, among others; acts such as Twista and the Speed Knot Mobstaz; real-life stories and more, according to a press release from the governor's office. Hundreds of students from Chicago-area high schools and colleges attended the concert and testing extravaganza, which was also simulcast to colleges and universities across the state.
The Governor's BASUAH Project has been endorsed by many national and local organizations, including AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Illinois Public Health Association, the National Minority AIDS Council and Test Positive Aware Network.
In Illinois, African-Americans are impacted by HIV/AIDS more than any other group. Though African-Americans only make up 15 percent of the population, in 2004 they comprised more than half of the reported HIV cases. Among all women who reported HIV infection last year, 70 percent were African-American, and among all, 46 percent were African-American.
For more information, visit www.basuah.org or call the Illinois HIV/AIDS and STD hotline at ( 800 ) 243-2437 from Mon.-Fri., 9:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., and weekends 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
