It wasn’t long ago that the AIDS epidemic made headlines across our country. Movies from Hollywood came onto the scene attempting to explain the disease and the tribulations that those infected dealt with.

Tom Hanks played the role of a homosexual man infected with AIDS in the movie ‘Philadelphia’.

Due to the infection he lost his job and the movie accounted for his struggle not only in the work place, but in his everyday life. For many the movie was the first time people saw an account of an infected victim.

Now days, the virus is more common in our communities, especially HIV.

Magic Johnson was one man who took the world on his shoulders and told of his infection with the virus HIV. Television shows were interrupted with special reports to break the news to the world. Johnson has been and will continue to be commended for taking his HIV message and telling his story and what the future holds in an effort to educate. He has made an effort to relay to those who have contracted the same disease that there is a future and that a chance is out there for someone to live a normal life even with the virus running through their body.

Locally, the American Red Cross of the Black Belt will be holding African-American HIV/AIDS Instructor training courses. The courses are just one of the many efforts to help those who have contracted the disease across our region. The purpose of the training is to provide counseling, moral support and the ability to educate others in the community.

There are also plans to reach out to church groups, youth groups and perform special programs.

Dallas County is not immune to the disease. As a matter of fact, Dallas County has 91 cases of AIDS and 64 cases of HIV according to the latest reports from the Center for Disease Control. This definitely is a call for education.

The ARC is once again doing something very important for our community. Educating people about this disease is extremely important in an effort to prevent transmission as well as provide those victims hope for living a normal life.

If anyone is interested in taking part of this training there will be prerequisite courses taking place on Jan. 30 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The greatest weapon against fighting these diseases is education; we thank you, the American Red Cross of the Black Belt for that.