Monday, January 23, 2012

Mason Named Spokesperson for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day


Bishop Terry Angel Mason


Event Will Target 14 Major Cities to Promote Awareness

Terry Angel Mason, internationally-renowned author, keynote speaker, poet, singer, songwriter, minister, columnist and civil rights activist has been selected as The National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Spokesperson for 2012.
 

February 7, will mark the 12th annual observance of 
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a nationwide community mobilization effort to emphasize the HIV/AIDS “State of Emergency” among African-Americans. The theme for this year's event is entitled “I am my Brother/Sister’s Keeper: Fight HIV/AIDS."

Mason will be assisting 
NBHAAD by using his international platform to encourage individuals to get educated about HIV/AIDS, get tested, get treated, and get involved in advocating for the resources necessary to fight the disease.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
 will target 14 major cities to promote awareness events and activities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham and Washington, DC.

The National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
 is led by a Strategic Leadership Council (SLC) that provides guidance, direction, and strategic thought to engage African American community stakeholders and organizations for sustained participation in the initiative.

The SLC includes six national organizations that work together to address specific issues which influence the course of HIV/AIDS in African American communities across the United States.

The author and LGBT advocate has been making local and international headlines since the release of his first book,
 Love Won’t Let Me Be Silent, a gripping tome that offers strategies to help parents, families, ministers, teachers and community leaders effectively understand and support gay teens, young adults and people infected with HIV/AIDS.

A highly respected, in-demand speaker, Mason is poised to join other notable leaders, entertainers and spokespeople in fighting this disease, and recently announced that he will be available for interviews on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

“The HIV/AIDS epidemic has hit the African-American community the hardest, and I want to prevent the spread of this disease in our community by sharing my story and educating people on the facts and how they can protect themselves,” stated Mason.

Mason has been garnering local and national praise for his latest literary release titled,
 They Say That I Am Broken, which deals with a plethora of issues affecting the Same-Gender-Loving community, including homophobia in the Black church, HIV, DADT (Don't Ask Don't Tell), gay marriage, homeless gay children, and more.

“The book also features captivating articles about CNN anchor and author Don Lemon, Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, and much more,” said the author.

“They Say That I Am Broken is poised to gain worldwide recognition, as it affirms God’s love for all people, and eloquently dissects race, religion and homosexuality through empowering essays, poems and stories,” Mason added.

A survivor of full-blown AIDS and cancer, Mason was selected as Real Health’s Magazine Advocate of the Month and featured in 
www.HealthyBlackMen.org -- for the month of December -- for World AIDS Day. (Direct link to article: Terry "Angel" Mason is Blessed, Not Broken )

Mason's books have touched millions of lives and have been submitted for a Pulitzer Prize and numerous awards, including the Lambda Literary Award and the Stonewall Book Awards. Since his international debut, Mason has sparked worldwide debate about pressing issues affecting African-Americans and the gay and lesbian community.

The celebrated blogger and columnist recently published an article about SB 48, (The Fair Education Act; a law that requires schools to include LGBT history), and denounced the Black religious community’s actions to overturn the bill, citing that their intolerance and support of inequality promotes more bullying, discrimination and violence in the gay community.

Photo courtesy of Bishop Terry Angel Mason

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