VIBE — Viewing Incarceration as a Behavioral Evolution
Listen to rap, spoken word, song and poetry performances
Ubuntu / Burford — 3:17
Running from Death to Death / Chavez — 4:18
Shine the Light on HIV/AIDS / Mason — 3:08
Protect Your Swipe / O’Connor — 4:01
Hoping for a Change / Moore — 2:59
In an effort to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Black community, the Black Coalition on AIDS (BCA) extended its services to engage incarcerated Black men in San Francisco jails. Efforts were made to address the psycho-social issues and threats incarcerated Black men face—or will face—in the Black community and elsewhere. In 1970, the City’s Black population comprised 13.4% of the City’s residents. In 2007, the population has plummeted to half—a percentage similar to that of Blacks in the entire state of California. Even more shocking is the number of Black men populating San Francisco’s jails. In all five of the City’s jails combined, Black men disproportionately represent 56% of the total population. Assisting Black men in their quest to reenter society requires the use of comprehensive strategies that address the complexity of those psycho-social issues, in addition to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the Black community.
In 2010, Black men continue to populate jails at ever-increasing and alarmingly high rates. They also disproportionately become infected with HIV. Both are stark and sobering reminders of imbalance and disruption within the Black community. With a new focus and intervention BCA is able to investigate the psycho-social issues impacting incarcerated Black men in one of the five City jails. BCA examines those issues through the lens of a new African American-focused intervention called VIBE: Viewing Incarceration as a Behavioral Evolution. The intervention explores how these issues hinder incarcerated Black men’s ability to understand the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to make healthy and informed choices. It also looks at some of the factors Black men face, related misconceptions, and how these contribute to an increase in the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS in the Black community. At the same time the intervention focuses the men on how to use their time wisely while incarcerated in order to help transform behaviors and attitudes, and not solely view incarceration as a form of punishment.
The intervention addresses issues related to Identity, Double Consciousness, Behaviors & Risks to HIV and other STDs, the AIDS Epidemic & Communities of Color, Sexual Options, the process of making change, Healthy Relationships, and how to advocate and obtain support for reentry. VIBE sets out to assist incarcerated Black men in San Francisco to develop a better understanding of HIV and empower them to respond to related challenges. At the end of the three-month intervention, VIBE has offered a space for incarcerated men to demonstrate what they actually learned and gained from the 7-session intervention. Men were able to enter the VIBE Talent Search and had the opportunity to present to the entire group what they learned. Each participant was able to enlighten the crowd about HIV Prevention through a rap, spoken word, song, poetry or a skit.