Red mohawks, afros and spartan hats filled the downtown area Saturday afternoon as community members participated in the Third Annual Red Wig Walk. Members of the Baton Rouge community gathered on the downtown riverfront in front of the Baton Rouge River Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to bring HIV/AIDS awareness to their city. It began with a walk around the river where all the participants wore their red wigs.
In addition to the walk, sponsors such as Volunteers of America, Metro Health, Amerihealth Caritas Louisiana, and the Department of Health and Hospitals set up tables with pamphlets and other information for attendees.
There was music, food, and performances by Love-N-Pain and DJ Baby Urkul.
Event Coordinator, Bobby “B” Graves led the event. He said the event was an attempt to reach out to more members of the community and bringing awareness about the disease is infecting the whole city.
“If we can get LSU and all the local colleges to get involved with spreading the word about this virus that is ruining our town, there could be change,” Graves said. “Together with LSU, we need everyone to do their part and spread the word. Continue to spread the word to be tested, do more events to get the word out, get the people involved, get more people in the community to come out to share their thoughts and opinions about what needs to be done to stop this virus.”
Baton Rouge ranks first in Louisiana with the highest rate of AIDS cases, according to the Baton Rouge AIDS Society. Baton Rouge is fourth in AIDS case rates in the U.S.
Louisiana is the fifth highest in the nation in AIDS case rates. In Louisiana, AIDS disproportionately affects African Americans, according to the Baton Rouge AIDS Society, with 75 percent of newly diagnosed cases in 2012 being African Americans.
Students from Kentwood High Magnet School and St. Helena College and Career Academy were one of the many groups who attended the event.
St. Helena College and Career Academy student Ariel Scott attended the event as a community service project and said she was able to learn more about HIV/AIDS while also having fun.
“People need to actually come and listen and understand what [this event is] talking about because there’s a chance that you can get [HIV/AIDS] too,” Scott said.