It's Hip, And Smart, To Be Tested

Two statistics stuck out in 11-year-old Ray Jones's mind as he stood in line for a soda at Verizon Center last week.

Fifty percent: how many of his friends would have HIV if he lived in Botswana.

Ninety percent: the proportion of people infected with HIV who don't know it.

"It's pretty scary because lots of people are dying," Ray said. "I know one thing: I'm never getting AIDS."

That's just the kind of reaction organizers of a youth forum on the topic hoped to spark with the event, which drew roughly 500 children of all ages to Verizon Center for a panel on the importance of HIV testing. The lure: free tickets to the Washington Mystics game and free performances by R&B artist Lyfe Jennings (Ray's favorite singer) and country music star Wynonna Judd, who appeared on stage with her sister, actress Ashley Judd.

"Make decisions that are going to make you happy in the future," Jennings told the crowd, some of whom were as young as 7. "When you decide whether to have sex with that guy or whether to get tested, think about what will make you happy later on."

As a preview of his concert during halftime of that night's game, Jennings performed a verse of his new song "S-E-X."

"You say that you're not ready for sex, but you're in love," he sang. "He says if you really loved him you would give it up/Mama says that's just a line guys use to get your stuff/Which one will you trust?"

The panel and free concerts were sponsored by the Washington Mystics Foundation and YouthAIDS, an education initiative aimed at reaching young people through pop culture. In keeping with the day's events, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams christened last Thursday YouthAIDS Day. A citywide campaign encourages every District resident between the ages of 14 and 84 to be tested for the virus.

The celebrity panelists were joined by Acting U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark R. Dybul and D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration Chief Marsha Martin, the sources of the scary statistics.

"We can't tackle this epidemic unless 90 or 100 percent of people know their status," Dybul said. "It's important to know if you're negative so you can lead a happy, healthy life."

To counter possible fears about intimidating needles and days of waiting for test results, both Judd sisters took an HIV test right on stage. Within 20 minutes of swabbing their mouths with large cotton swabs, the women had their results. To emphasize testing centers' promise of confidentiality, they didn't share what they had learned, though their smiles seemed to give the answer away.