By Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
The above figure is not a new statistic. My concern is that it has become the norm
and is unacceptable. One fourth of white female teens have an STD. That figure
would be a little more acceptable. Is the Black community in denial? Do we feel
it’s okay if almost half our female teens have an STD? When I speak nationwide
to youth, many of them tell they are virgins. I then ask how can you be a virgin
with an STD? They then tell me it was oral or anal sex which they feel did not
violate their virginity.
Were you aware that the leading cause of death in the Black community is
abortion? Each day, 1,786 Black children are aborted. Can you imagine 52 percent of
Black pregnancies are aborted? Again, this not a new statistic, my concern like
with STDs, is that it has become acceptable. Are 52 percent of all pregnancies aborted
acceptable to you? Has abortion become the new form of birth control?
African Americans are 13 percent of the U.S. population male and female. I would
expect Black females to be 13 percent of females in America who are HIV positive. The
reality is that Black females are 64 percent of the women in America who are HIV
positive. Again this is not a new statistic. Are you okay and accepting of the fact
that 64 percent of all women in America who are HIV positive just happen to be Black?
Has this become the norm? Is that our reality? Are Black people in denial? Have
all the statistics made us numb?
How can we reduce these statistics? While writing Raising Black Girls, I discovered
that Black girls start puberty before anyone else. They start at 8 years and 8
months while white girls start at 9.7. Black girls also start their menstrual earlier
than anyone else at 12.06. Whites start at 12.88. In writing the book, I wanted to
understand why. I discovered a relationship between puberty, menstruation and
sexual activity. In addition, I also found a relationship between puberty, diet,
exercise, body mass index and being breast fed.
I want to close with a positive statistic seldom if ever is mentioned. There are
thousands of Black girls who wear chastity rings and have taken the oath of
abstinence until marriage. I salute and applaud you!
Excerpt from Raising Black Girls and Educating Black Girls
