This is a scary time, when AIDS is taking its deadly toll on Black men. Let’s pretend that every young brother in America is listening…what is the one thing you would want them to hear?

“Live life to the fullest. And try not to kill yourself along the way.” Attorney, age 39

“Look around you - look at AIDS, look at the mortality rates, look at the general state of the world. After you’re done looking, see if it doesn’t make sense to do whatever you can to protect yourself.” Personal Trainer, age 30

“Life is too short and can be too much fun to allow something like HIV or AIDS to mess it up. Ultimately, the decision you have to make isn’t really that hard: PROTECT YOURSELF ALWAYS! I hope that was clear enough.” NASA Flight Engineer, age 32

“I can only hope that some of you young men out there are my future replacements.  Don’t let AIDS or HIV get in the way of allowing you to live long enough to enjoy life the way I’m enjoying it.” Corporate Finance Specialist, age 43

“Right now, you’re making decisions for someone you don’t know - and that ‘someone’ is you 10 years from now. Be certain that the decisions you make now are good ones.” Art Director, age 34

Testing, Testing 1-2-3

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself and your partner(s) from HIV/AIDS is to GET TESTED.

There are no words to tell you how important it is that you and your partner(s) get tested - REGULARLY! And by regularly we mean that you should GET TESTED AT LEAST ONE TIME EVERY 6 MONTHS, since six months is about how long it takes HIV/AIDS to show up in current testing methods.

Don't give yourself any excuses. Talk to the counselors that are available at the many clinics around the country and they will be able to hook you up with the location(s) of the nearest testing facilities.

Oh, before we forget, there's one more thing we should tell you about getting tested: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! And, yes, you DO have rights when it comes to getting tested .