by Wesley Beeks
“ We don’t mourn burnt bridges as we are teaching how to build bridges for universal evolution.” WB
The word minority carries the stigma of those underserved, disenfranchised, uneducated and ostracized. The word minority is not applicable for Hispanics and Blacks for they are the global majority. Long before the Western hemisphere learned of the erudite wisdom of Socrates, mathematical abstractions of Pythagoras and the early acknowledgment of atoms by Democritus it was swept up in the tapestry of a Diaspora that held ancestral ties to philosophy, wisdom, passion and science. From the tomes of Aztec and Mayan tablets to the haunting midnight desert of Sahara entrenched with hybrids of surviving species that shared the secrets of survival we prospered.
At it’s most basic structure the body is composed of atoms all coordinating, collaborating, and sharing to create the fusion of life. The family unit shares the same universal characteristic of a nucleus, protons and electrons generating the effect of movement. Before we can even begin to fathom prevention and education we must become aware of the similarities of our collective struggles to maintain our cultural and sociological contribributions. HIV has metamorphed from an entity once abstract associated with homosexuals, scattered with homeless population, strewn with tattered fabrics of those who were without merit. HIV has shared the title of epidemic to pandemic to some now just a whisper of past indiscretions. Better educated most of the populations knows that HIV is a virus and not a condemnation. HIV has become common place in society as another virus but the time has come for this to run its course.
In developing strategies for prevention, education and research for HIV we must not separate ourselves from universal precaution which translates into universal welfare. The psychology of how we begin to think becomes paramount in the dissemination of materials and services. Our cultures and manuscript for behavior and cognition must now be reviewed with precision. Disease and warfare are agents that propel a civilization in forced contrition and welfare. Complacency within the paradigm of our family units must be penetrated and re-examined. The beauty of this challenge is to become more heightened and cognizant of the micro and macro elements of family and its latent ability to resurrect itself. Yes we are contemporary but without the durability of tradition, history, and empathy we are expendable and our children inherit extinct theories and defunct edifices.
HIV outreach and education must embrace the best of our traditions and rebuild the essence of the family unit. HIV has contributed to the disintegration of the family with some thrown out, bastardized, and penalized. Concern for health inclusive of Cancer, Hypertension, Diabetes are often clustered with HIV and begs the need for health awareness and management that begins with a single step. That step is awareness and concern for one’s body and how it affects the family, friends, and community at large.
Identifying the agents of behavioral changes is key to determining how to approach prevention. A clinical an unbiased lens will be the primary tool as we will be challenged to use critical and creative thinking. Linguistically the rhythm and modulation of speech and language will require modifications. This is the time to push beyond what is pedestrian to collaborate key elements social evolution. We must invest financially and methodically in the necessity of social marketing and attribute the most relevant aspects of messages. Hispanics and African Americans resonate with a plethora of idioms, symbols, and science that is latent within the syncopation of creation. The inclusion of current social media and forecasting with historical cyclic patterns is integral to our success.
On a mundane level Hispanics and African Americans have been fiscally classified as consumers. The awareness of this must be positioned as a positive to create strategic outreach methodologies. An intensive study of the demographics of attributed characteristics will be retooled to uplift and educate the population. This will demand an multidisclinary approach as we are not homogenous in expression, language or taste. The commonality is our desire for the protection, healing and building of our communities. In truth we are not mundane and our contributions are not!
Hispanic History month is September 15th to October 15th and Black History Month is February. If we have no other time to generate concern and empathy for our communities then let it be at a minimum during these appointed months but limited too.
The dynamics of family is a public health concern. If we stay entrenched in the archaic structure of family from eons ago we deny our heritages an opportunity to expand and embrace the diversity of our collective social and cultural talents. We must focus on teaching all members of our family: men, women and children on how to appreciate one’s talents, develop the sense of self, and the integration of collective consciousness. With this we will begin the process of teaching how to rebuild bridges.
By focusing our outreach on health care and maintenance, mental health, childcare services, education, job training, awareness to name a few we can minimize the numbers of those infected to HIV. We are at a critical point in outreach, prevention, education and medication. It is the synthesis of all contributing factors that must be acknowledged and rebuilt within healing the paradigm of our cultural institutions. We will start at this moment this linking up with all partners in the community and commit to long range plan to identify and acknowledge all segments of our population.
With faith we endure, with science we construct , with empathy we acknowledge and with collective collaborations we shall achieve.
