By: Gordon Jackson

Bishop T.D. Jakes boldly said he's stepping up to the plate and challenging the other batters in the community to step up as well, so that a true impact can be made in the battle against HIV/AIDS.

Bishop T.D. Jakes
Jakes assembled his own team of ministers and volunteers, welcoming close to a thousand people when he launched "It's Time to Step Up!" his new national and international HIV/AIDS Awareness campaign.

Bishop Jakes opened up the program, held at the Potter's House in observance of World AIDS Day, by taking an AIDS test himself, the mouth-swab test, along with several of his associate ministers.

Comparing the AIDS crisis to the 911 terrorist attacks, Jakes proclaimed: "I would like to say to you, in regards to AIDS - particularly in the African-American community - this is our Ground Zero."

Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute and Hydeia Broadbent, nationally-renowned AIDS crusader and chair of STAR, were among the mixture of national and local speakers who helped project a comprehensive action plan to diminish the effects of the deadly disease that has killed 25 million people worldwide since it was discovered a quarter of a century ago.

"People come ask me, ‘You look so good, what did you do?'" said the beautiful, yet very petite, Broadbent, who contracted the disease at birth from her infected mother. "I was born. I didn't do anything."

Broadbent, however, impressed the audience with her grit and refusal to succumb to the stigma that AIDS commonly brings. In regards to the prospect of being ashamed, she stated, "I'm not. I'm very proud of who I am.

"My doctors said that I would live only until I'm five," Broadbent continued. "I'm now 22." The audience gave her a roaring standing ovation. Wilson, 50, also exceeded death projections, now having lived 25 years since he contracted the disease.

"So what can you do?" Wilson asked during his delivery. "When we know better, we do better."

The church, particularly the Black church, had been under heavy criticism for several years, charged with not doing enough to use their resources to address the needs of those infected, possibly being handcuffed by the same stigma that Broadbent and Wilson fought.

"For too long the church has kept silent," associate pastor Ronnie Guynes said of the overall church community. "They've set back and for some reason felt this was a healthcare issue."

Jakes has somewhat contested such general statements by the public, listing a number of initiatives the Potter's House has taken, including holding several HIV/AIDS workshops and testing more than 600 attendees of MegaFest 2006 this past July.

He calls for people to remove the stigma and judgmental attitudes associated with the disease.

"These are people who want to go to college, see their grandchildren grow up. They're not evil people, they're just human," Jakes said of those infected. "It's important that we take ownership of this issue. We talk to each other through the media. We cannot waste anytime with the assumptions about who we are, we must sit down and talk to each other. What we do not know is killing us."

Nicole McCann, Director of Counseling Services at The Potter's House, used a slide presentation to break down the, "It's Time to Step Up!" action plan, with itemized agendas to strategically advocate HIV/AIDS awareness, education, prevention, testing and optimal treatment, what she describes as "whole-person care."

"The Black church is a shepherd because it has historically been the most trusted institution, where we go to seek support, healing, leadership," McCann said.

The plan calls for specialized training of professional and volunteer healthcare practitioners aligned with African American culture and their spiritual values, noting that African Americans reportedly account for approximately half of the people currently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, although they make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population.

While the Potter's House will acquire grants to fund their programs, they will also take a more in depth look at the Ryan White Act, the federally funding program earmarked for AIDS-related organizations. Several Black organizations have complained of difficulty in attaining such grants.

Partnerships are key as Jakes calls out for those other batters - the government, medical industry, corporations and non-profit organizations - to "step up."

"We know that the church must step up to the plate, but we cannot step up to the plate alone," Jakes said. "We cannot fix this with tithe money while you pay tax money.

"We don't have laboratories here (in the church). We don't make any medicine here. We do have (Black) congressmen and senators today. We can write. Currently, there have been very few (AIDS) studies that have been pointed at people of color. We ought to be outraged about that."

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