Better Life Columbus News & Comment Features

Your Comments on the Divorce of Mayor Coleman and His Wife
(Better Life Columbus News) Did Mayor Michael Coleman and his wife Frankie set a bad example for the city by divorcing? Especially with divorce and failure to marry running at record levels for African Americans, should the couple have stayed together in order to encourage marriage among Columbus African Americans?

The above are just two of the questions being raised by the recent announcement that the Colemans were separating. It was the second marriage for both. In a joint statement to the public, the two vowed “to remain friends and be supportive” and be supportive of family endeavors.

[Register as a Better Life Columbus website member and then share your thoughts in the Forum “Comments” section below.]

Members of Ohio’s Hispanic Communities Charge Racial Profiling by BMV

(Better Life News Ohio) Members of the state’s Hispanic communities, including Columbus residents, are charging that they are becoming the victims of racial profiling as a result of a new policy adopted by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The controversy was kicked off when BMV recently sent out over 47,000 letters to vehicle owners who do not have Social Security numbers or state identification numbers attached to their vehicle registrations.

BMV has threatened that after 60 days, anyone who has not provided additional information will have his or her vehicle registration canceled. However, if implemented, the threat would create a situation whereby illegal immigrants could be pulled over, arrested and deported.

Several Hispanics in the Columbus area charge the letters only went out to Hispanics and label the policy one of racial profiling - a practice by law enforcement officers of simply stopping someone because they appear to be a member of a minority group. BMV spokesman Lindsay Komlanc has denied that last names were considered in sending out the letters.

[What do you think? Please register as a Better Life Columbus website member and share your views in the Forum “Comments” section below.]

HIV/AIDS Infections Declining among All Groups, Except Homosexual Males
Black Gays Are the Most Endangered

(Taylor Media Services) According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC), the number of HIV/AIDS infections is declining for all population groups - except among homosexual males or men the CDC refers to as “MSM”: men who have sex with men. And among homosexuals, the segment with the highest infection rate is young Black males aged 13 to 24.

Indeed, the CDC figures show that young Black gay males “had the most dramatic increase” in infections - up by over 93 percent from 2001 to 2006. The report, released several weeks ago but not widely reported, also found that young Black homosexual males were “more than twice” as likely to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS as their white and Hispanics counterparts in 2006 - the latest year for which complete figures are available.

This latest report runs counter to attempts by the many in the gay community and many anti-AIDS activists to portray the deadly disease as affecting all segments of the population nearly equally. The efforts are in part driven by a desire to avoid stigmatizing the homosexual community. There have even been efforts to portray AIDS as a disease increasingly affecting Black females.

However, while African American females have a much higher HIV/AIDS infection rate than white females, it is also true that white females have a much higher infection rate than Asian-American females. Regardless, the latest data from the CDC show HIV/AIDS infection is declining in all segments of the population except homosexual males.