Midday on Saturday, local residents gathered at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X avenues in Southeast D.C. as a part of a march for HIV/AIDS awareness organized by the Metropolitan Public Health Association and the local advocacy group DC Fights Back.

Bearing posters with red ribbons and chanting slogans such as “When people with AIDS are under attack, what do we do? Fight back!” the column marched through residential streets of Ward 8 to the Highlands Public Library.

Alex Lawson is the co-founder of DC Fights Back. “We chose to march here because there are two separate cities in Washington; one is here [in Ward 8], and the other is in Northwest Washington, where they have five hospitals. There are many fewer here.”

Gathered in front of the library, members of the group were invited to speak to those congregated about their experiences with HIV/AIDS. They then assembled in one of the library’s meeting halls to continue discussion and generate a list of specific demands they felt would prevent the spread of the disease.

pshinkman@dcexaminer.com