to tell his pastor, buster sorisze, the rest of his story. i m living with hiv. in the name of jesus. reporter: jay gavin, as his friends know him, found he he was hiv-positive four years ago. he s never mentioned it in church and keeping that kind of secret is common in the african-american community. if the average person in this church knew how many people they interacted with in this church who were hiv-positive, it it would be scandalous. reporter: the cdc says it s the stigma in the african-american community that s putting many blacks at higher risk of contracting the disease. nearly half the people living with hiv in the united states are african-american. gavin is gay and contracted hiv from sex, but the message he wants to send to his community is anyone can get it. how you doing, man? thank you so much. well, thank you for this.
divorce and sex in this economy, and a little thing called divorce insurance, among other unusual agreements, quickly gaining popularity now. a lawyer who knows all about it is here to explain. but we start tonight with politics. the president and the first lady just wrapped up their first joint campaign stop since the 2008 campaign. this time though the president s poll numbers are weak. the first lady s are strong, but together democrats hope the couple can push voters to the polls for the all-important mid-term elections in just 16 days. our senior political editor mr. mark preston joins me in a minute but first let s check in with ed henry traveling with the president tonight reporter: the campus of ohio state university here was devastated on saturday night because their football team was knocked out of the top spot in the nation. a big loss at wisconsin, but people are pretty fired up here, to use the president s words. 35,000 people here on the campus largely here
plus, money changes everything, especially marriage, divorce and sex in this economy, and a little thing called divorce insurance, among other unusual agreements, quickly gaining popularity now. a lawyer who knows all about it is here to explain. but we start tonight with politics. the president and the first lady just wrapped up their first joint campaign stop since the 2008 campaign. this time though the president s poll numbers are weak. the first lady s are strong, but together democrats hope the couple can push voters to the polls for the all-important mid-term elections in just 16 days. our senior political editor mr. mark preston joins me in a minute but first let s check in with ed henry traveling with the president tonight. reporter: the campus of ohio state university here was devastated on saturday night because their football team was knocked out of the top spot in the nation. a big loss at wisconsin, but people are pretty fired up here, to use the president s
1 in every 16 black men will contract hiv in their lifetimes according to health officials. for black women, it s 1 in 30. the virus is too common in the black community, and yet it s considered a stigma to broach the subject. soledad o brien introduces us to one man who is daring to try. reporter: two illnesses threaten jeffrey gavin. his church knows only about one. i have what s called morfans syndrome. that makes me very tall. i m constantly in pain. reporter: he feels compelled to tell his pastor, buster, the rest of his story. i m living with hiv. in the name of jesus. reporter: jay gavin as his friends know him found out he was hiv positive four years ago. he s never mentioned it in church, keeping that kind of a secret is common in the african-american community. if the average person in this church knew how many people they
reporter: gavin sees himself as an ambassador, leading open discussions. but his pastor has a more tempered response. whether or not he is a symbol of something that can be healthy for the church and inspiring for people who are hiv positive, i think, that remains to be seen. reporter: regardless of the outcome, gavin says he ll keep pushing. reporting for in america, soledad o brien, somerset, new jersey. jay gavin is also a member of first baptist church of lincoln gardens and that church has the focus of almighty debt. the church has fought for civil and human rights and now waging a war on debt. and you can watch the special thursday, october 21st, 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. top stories coming your way right after the break. three minutes now to the top of the hour. sorry i m late fellas.