You Are Greater Than AIDS

The Black AIDS Media Partnership, a conglomeration of media companies, has launched a nationwide campaign urging African-Americans to learn their HIV status, take steps to prevent transmitting the virus to others if infected, and remain HIV-free if uninfected. Called "Greater Than AIDS" (inspired by a line in a speech by Barack Obama on World AIDS Day, 2006), the campaign aims to create an "internal dialog" within the black community about HIV and stresses six specific actions in response to the epidemic: being informed; using condoms; getting tested -- and treated, as needed; speaking openly; acting with respect; and getting involved. The campaign's logo is the mathematical symbol for "greater than." "The central idea is to remind us, as black Americans, that we are greater than any challenge we have ever faced and that we are greater than AIDS as well," says Phill Wilson, founder and chief executive of the Black AIDS Institute, which is advising on the initiative.