By Chauncey Bailey

On Friday Congresswoman Barbara Lee used the star power of rock legend Bono to bring more awareness to the AIDS crisis in the African American community.

   “We’re at the epicenter here in East Oakland of a new rise in the AIDS epidemic. We’re also at the epicenter of the resistance to that epidemic,” said Bono, who has been active in AIDS awareness and treatment initiatives in Africa, which has more AIDS cases and recorded more AIDS-related deaths than any other continent.
    Bono, 46, the lead singer of the Grammy-winning group U2, met for two hours with AIDS service groups, pastors and HIVpositive residents. Of the AIDS cases in Alameda County from 1980 to 2005, some 44 percent involved blacks.
    Mayor Ron Dellums and Allen Temple’s senior pastor Dr. Rev. J. Alfred Smith Sr. thanked the recording artist for coming to Oakland.
    Bono, Lee and Dellums called on black churches to play a greater role in the fight against AIDS.
   “The church is very important,” said Bono. “In Africa, the church was at the forefront of educating the public.”
    Smith said it is time for the black church to “break the silence” about AIDS.
    Dellums said too many black males are leaving jails with AIDS, and “we are sending them back into the community as bullets because they don’t know their status.”
    Bono called Lee “a lioness” because of her passion for fighting AIDS. Lee praised Bono for linking AIDS to poverty worldwide.
   “This visit is an opportunity for an international AIDS activist to learn about the epidemic here in the United States, where HIV/AIDS is devastating the African American community and other communities of color,” said Lee. “Oakland is a microcosm of the crisis our nation faces, and Bono’s coming here helps focus public attention not only on the problem, but also on some of the innovative solutions that have been developed locally.”
    Lee, who is recognized as a leader in Congress in the fight against HIV/AIDS both at home and abroad, became friends with Bono through their work together in Washington on policies designed to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
   “I invited Bono to come to Oakland so that he could get a first hand sense of what the front line of the pandemic looks like in the United States and what we are doing to fight it,” Lee said, who wore a red t-shirt as a supporter of the Product Red drive, which sends proceeds from the sale of consumer goods to a global fund to fight AIDS.
    Joy Rucker, executive director of AIDS Project of the East Bay, discussed her organization’s programs to provide treatment, care and counseling, as well as education and outreach.
    Lee and Bono then participated in a roundtable discussion with local religious leaders on the role of the faith community in helping fight the disease. They discussed how others might learn from and build on the successful efforts of the Allen Temple’s AIDS ministry. In addition to offering counseling and spiritual guidance, the program also provides case management and housing for people living with AIDS, as well outreach to other congregations and organizations.
    Some of the participating religious leaders included Bishop Bob Jackson, president of Pastors of Oakland; Pastor Valerie Brown-Troutt, New Community Fellowship Church; Pastor George Cummings, Imani Community Church; Pastor Charlie Hames, Beebe Memorial CME Cathedral; Pastor Sylvester Rutledge, North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church; Pastor Joe Smith, Bay Cities Baptist Ministers Union; and Janet Hall, St. Benedicts Parish.
    Also in attendance were community leaders Mercedes Brown, AIDS Project East Bay; Braunz Courtney, HEPPAC; Carla Dillard Smith, African American Task Force/Cal PEP; Ignacio Ferrey, La Clinica de la Raza; Dr. Eric Goosby, Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation; George Holland, NAACP, Asian Health Center; Dr. Anthony Iton, Alameda County Health Services; Susan Jamerson, Native American Health Center; David Kears, Alameda County Health Care Service Agency; Ronald Persons, Alameda County Health Services; O.C. Roberts, AIDS Project East Bay; Karen Stevenson, East Bay Community Foundation; and Louis Thompson, AIDS Project East Bay.
    After Bono left Oakland, he went to Los Angeles to attend the NAACP Image Awards, where he was presented with the Chairman’s Award for public service.