HIV/AIDS remains a major public health concern and the main cause of death in the world despite efforts to control the disease.
What is also worrying is that since the epidemic’s beginning, black people have been disproportionately affected by the disease compared to other races.
In the U.S., although black people represent only 12% of the population, KFF writes that “Blacks account for a much larger share of HIV diagnoses (43%), people estimated to be living with HIV disease (42%), and deaths among people with HIV (43%) than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.”
Among these deaths were some popular black celebrities. As the world commemorates World AIDS Day, here are some black celebrities who died of AIDS: