The CDC estimates that one in two gay black men will acquire HIV in our lifetime. These rates continue to increase even as the general public believes HIV is over.

To be clear, the problem here isn’t high-risk behavior. Black gay men aren’t engaging in any riskier behavior than our white counterparts. Our rates of drug use and number of sex partners are both on par with those of our peers. But one place where there is a huge disparity is access to quality health care. The fact is that among black gay men with HIV, viral loads are higher because so many people aren’t getting the care they need.

We hear a lot about bias in policing these days, and the truth is implicit bias isn’t specific to the police. It’s something we all have because we all grew up around the similar stereotypes in culture, in movies, and from our communities.