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Events in Los Angeles May 17 to Observe National Asian Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

LOS ANGELES-Aiming to reduce discrimination and stigma associated with HIV and AIDS in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, local leaders will hold a media and community briefing May 17 to air a new Public Service Announcement about the disease and to discuss the impact of HIV and AIDS on the local API community. The briefing comes in anticipation of National Asian Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on May 19.

HIV-positive Actor Rodney Kageyama will speak about his experiences. Lola Sablan Santos, Executive Director of the Guam Communications Network, will moderate and Mario Perez, Director of the Office of AIDS Programs and Policy will be a presenter. The media and community briefing begins at 6 p.m. at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, 111 N. Central Ave., in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles.

The briefing is sponsored by The Banyan Tree Project, a community program supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and local HIV & AIDS outreach organizations, including the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT), Southern California's largest provider of HIV/AIDS services to Asian and Pacific Islanders. Other sponsors include the Tony Cox Community Fund and Time Warner Cable.

Attendees are invited to stay after the media and community briefing for a 7 p.m. forum also co-sponsored by APAIT. Entitled "We do, Too," the event will feature a discussion of marriage equality in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Scheduled participants include actor George Takei, activist Helen Zia and actor James Sie.

For more information about these events, contact APAIT at (213) 553-1899.