(PCP). Over time, the medical community began to
realize that such deaths of relatively rare diseases
were symptomatic of a larger new epidemic that was
emerging, and they named the overall disease ac-
quired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Early
U.S. media coverage of AIDS was focused primarily
upon gay men and Haitian immigrants. Soon, how-
ever, connections began to be made to African
Americans as well. At the 1985 AIDS and Minorities
conference, it was announced that $7 million would
be given to minority organizations to use for preven-
tion and education programs.
Contributions to American Culture African Ameri-
cans continued to have a profound impact on Amer-
ican culture. Distinctively African American cultural
production remained as vital as ever in the 1980’s,
and it continued both to exist as a separate sub-
cultural phenomenon and to influence the develop-
ment of mainstream American culture. Rhythm and
blues, funk, rock and roll, soul, blues, and other
American musical forms had all originated in Afri-
can communities in earlier decades, and their later
development was shaped by African American artists
as well as white artists. The 1980’s were most notable
in this regard for the emergence of hip-hop culture,
which included rap music and break dancing, as well
as distinctive fashions and slang. Hip-hop emerged
as a cultural movement initiated by inner-city youth,
primarily by African Americans and Latinos living in
New York City. By 1979, hip-hop had become a com-
mercially popular music genre and began to enter
the American music mainstream. By the end of the
1980’s, a form of hip-hop called gangsta rap became
a major part of American music, causing significant
controversy over lyrics that were perceived as pro-
moting violence, promiscuity, and drug use. Michael
Jackson, another controversial singer and per-
former, recorded his album,Thriller(1982), which
became the best-selling record in U.S. history. In
1983, the album won eight Grammy Awards, and it
sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
In 1980, Black Entertainment Television (BET),
the first cable television network with an African
American target audience, began broadcasting from
its headquarters in Washington, D.C., under the
leadership of Robert L. Johnson. Rap music played a
prominent role on BET, and in 1988, music video
channel MTV added a hip-hop show,Yo! MTV Raps,
to its lineup as well. The twenty-four-hour music net-
work had been criticized earlier in the decade for ne-
glecting African American artists in its music video
rotation. By launchingYo! MTV Raps, it not only ad-
dressed this criticism but also exposed hip-hop mu-
sic, videos, and culture to its wide, mainstream audi-
ence. Hip-hop gained greater legitimacy by finding a
home on a network that had become an arbiter of
musical taste; in addition, specific African American
musical artists found larger audiences and greater
success.
Vanessa Williams became the first African Ameri-
can woman to win the coveted crown of Miss Amer-
ica on September 18, 1983, in Atlantic City, New Jer-
sey. However, In July, 1984, she had to give up her
crown afterPenthousemagazine published nude pic-
tures of her. Suzette Charles, Miss New Jersey, as-
sumed the crown, becoming the second African
American Miss America in the process. Alice
Walker’sThe Color Purple(1982) won the American
Book Award and Pulitzer Prize in 1983. The novel’s
depiction of African American men dominating Af-
rican American women in the South was met by criti-
cism by many such men, who felt her depiction pro-
moted racial stereotypes. Steven Spielberg directed
a popular film adaptation of the novel in 1985.
In sports, Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles
Lakers to five National Basketball Association (NBA)
championships and won the Most Valuable Player
Award in 1987. Doug Williams, one of the first Afri-
can American quarterbacks in the National Football
League (NFL), led the Washington Redskins and
was named the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl
XXII on January 31, 1988, in San Diego, California.
Mike Tyson in 1986 won the World Boxing Council’s
heavyweight championship, becoming the youngest
boxer to ever hold the prestigious title. Bobsledders
Jeff Gadley and Willie Davenport became the first
African Americans to take part in the Winter Olym-
pic Games in 1980. Hank Aaron, the home run king
of the National League, was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 1982. At the 1988 Olympics, Flor-
ence Griffith-Joyner won three gold medals and one
silver medal. At the Calgary Winter Olympics of the
same year, Deb Thomas became the first African
American woman to win an Olympic medal for fig-
ure skating.Persisting Problems and Attempted Solutions Civil
rights advocates continued to press with some suc-
cess for the implementation of policies for group ad-The Eighties in America African Americans 29