If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more. Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of Blavity's. ____ I was diagnosed with HIV at the age of 21 while I was in college. Today, more than 1.2 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., including 482,900 who are Black like me. In the years since I walked outside the student health center wearing a bucket of tears, not knowing what lie ahead, annual HIV diagnosis rates have dropped, new HIV diagnoses among Black people overall have declined, and new diagnoses among Black gay and bisexual men has stabilized. From 2014 to 2018, HIV diagnoses decreased 7% among Black/African American people overall. The pill chart on the back of the doctor’s door has far more options now than when I was diagnosed, as more than 15 new drugs have since been approved by the FDA to tackle the virus in my body with fewer side...
