National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS Establishes Baltimore Affiliate

The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS on Thursday opened a Baltimore affiliate and "mapped a strategy" on how to fight HIV/AIDS in the city, the Baltimore Sun reports. Leaders of the NBLCA, which has its headquarters in New York City, said that their primary goal in establishing the office is to "redistribute resources to focus on the black community," which comprises 88.5% of the city's AIDS cases. "We're overrepresented by the virus and underrepresented by funds," Rev. Raphael Warnock, vice chair of the NBLCA Baltimore affiliate, said. The group also announced its plans to hold a "State of Emergency Sunday" on Sept. 29, during which churches will solicit donations and lobby for political support to fight the disease (Baltimore Sun, 6/21). The opening of the new NBLCA office comes 10 days after City Council President Sheila Dixon recommended that Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening (D) declare the AIDS epidemic a public health emergency in Baltimore (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/11).