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Originally published in the USA TODAY, December 1, 2004

Copyright 2004 Gannett Company, Inc.

By : Coretta Scott King

Today, people from around the globe commemorate World AIDS Day. We remember the people who have succumbed to this devastating disease, celebrate the great advances made in treatment during the past 20 years, and reflect on the work to be done to eradicate this scourge of humankind.

Worldwide, an unprecedented number of people -- nearly 40 million men, women and children -- are living with HIV, according to figures released last week by the United Nations AIDS program. More than 3 million people are expected to die of AIDS this year alone, including half a million children under the age of 15. And every day this year, 13,000 people were infected with HIV.

As the pandemic expands, women are increasingly on the front lines. Since 2002, the number of women living with HIV has risen in every region of the world, with the sharpest increases occurring in East Asia and Eastern Europe. In sub-Saharan Africa, an alarming 60% of HIV-infected adults are female, and it is estimated that 40 million children will become orphans in the next decade because of AIDS.

Here in the United States, women are also increasingly affected by HIV/AIDS, and race is a major risk factor: African-Americanblack women ages 24 to 35.

Threat to communities

I have seen firsthand how HIV/AIDS has damaged our community, our families and our children. The disease represents one of the most serious dangers facing African-Americans today. It is a threat to our shared goal of achieving true social equality.

African-Americans have been working together to fight injustice since the early days of the civil rights movement. First, we battled segregation and economic injustice; then we struggled against violence and drug abuse. Sometimes, it seems like a never-ending battle in which the enemy keeps changing.

It is tempting to give up in the face of calamity after calamity. But like my husband, Martin Luther King Jr., we have no intention of ceding in the struggle for social justice -- whether it occurs on the streets of Selma or in the maternity wards of American cities.

Strong women are a cornerstone of the African-American community. But now we face a disease that is silencing the voice and stilling the hands of those mothers, daughters and sisters.

Time for action

It is time for all of us to take action to protect ourselves and our young people against HIV/AIDS. We can start by challenging the ignorance, bigotry and fear that surround this disease. We must acknowledge the widespread misinformation in our community about how HIV is contracted and how it should be treated.

One of the most formidable obstacles to AIDS education is homophobia, which afflicts people of all races. We need to create a climate that encourages openness and education about AIDS -- instead of allowing shame and guilt to prevail over reason, understanding and compassion.

Most important, we must educate our children about HIV prevention. They need to know that it is OK to talk about AIDS, because illness, like injustice and inequality, cannot be eliminated by remaining silent.

African-Americans have overcome many obstacles in the struggle for social equality, but we are still in the early days of acknowledging and fighting HIV/AIDS.

In meeting this challenge with the same courage, commitment and creativity that empowered our freedom struggle, we can truly overcome. women are more than 23 times as likely as white women to be diagnosed with AIDS, and the disease is now the leading cause of death among

Coretta Scott King is the founder of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.