A Fear is preventing a public dialogue over leading cause of black women contracting AIDS: "There are so many pressures that keep African-American men from coming out, pressures from family, pressures from the church," [Tyrone] said. "Many men, from all walks of life - ministers, doctors, lawyers - are on the down low." Living on the down low, however, is costing lives. While African-Americans make up only 12 percent of the nation's population, they account for 37 percent of all AIDS cases. The disease is the leading killer of African-Americans age 25 to 44. One in 50 black men and one in 160 black women are HIV-positive, compared with one in 250 white men and one in 3,000 white women, according to Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS, a local AIDS awareness organization.

The most effective and powerful weapon we have now against AIDS is knowledge.

Ignorance can be fatal, not just to you but to those you love.