An actor pledges to use his name recognition to fight a public health crisis. A pastor promises to weave in a message of prevention with the Word. A journalist commits to increasing coverage of an epidemic, and a musician writes lyrics to help save lives. These are a few of the public promises made at a major meeting of African American leaders who have joined forces to collectively fight HIV in their communities. Organized by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the two-day meeting in Atlanta was a critical part of the broader “Heightened National Response” to combat HIV in black America. Last year, CDC devoted more than half of its annual HIV prevention budget to fighting the disease in African American communities. And with good reason. Twenty-six years into the crisis, HIV/AIDS takes a heavier toll on African Americans than any other racial or ethnic group. While blacks constitute just 13 percent of the U.S. population, they represent about half of those living with HIV. Black women and black gay and bisexual men are most affected. Celebrities attending the meeting included R&B artist Lyfe Jennings and Anwan Glover of HBO's The Wire. Glover relayed his experience of losing an uncle and two close friends to AIDS, and explained his personal commitment. "I've seen AIDS in my community. I've seen a family member dying from it. To see that suffering hits home,” Glover said. “You never know when this can touch someone close to you."   The meeting, which drew more than 100 participants, included a cross-section of African American religious, civic, business, media, educational and philanthropic organizations. Representatives from 100 Black Men, National Newspaper Publishers Association, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Association of People with AIDS, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, BET and other groups attended. Many shared their successes: 7,500 people tested for HIV in a single weekend in Houston, a new HIV testing program for inmates in Illinois. Others discussed ambitious new initiatives: a bold online information campaign from the Black AIDS Institute, a $35 million HIV testing initiative from CDC. And everyone worked together to identify new strategies to stop the spread of HIV. "This is not business as usual," said Kevin Fenton, MD, Director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, in his opening remarks. "We will work sector by sector to increase HIV prevention through our churches, our businesses and our educational, medical, media and entertainment industries." Christopher Bates, acting director of HIV/AIDS policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, captured the collective resolve of those present in his charge to participants, "We’ve lost generations of black Americans to slavery and segregation. We should not lose any more lives to HIV/AIDS." To find out more about HIV prevention services in your community, call CDC’s National Prevention Information Network at 1-800-458-5231.