|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
At DuSable, Black LGBTQ leaders talk HIV/AIDS awareness
by Ashley Collins 2019-02-10
|
|
This article shared 2219 times since Sun Feb 10, 2019
|
|
Bringing awareness and creating conversations is just one of the many ways individuals from Black communities can change the way HIV and AIDS affects Black people. To kick off National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Feb. 7, GreaterWorks! President Creola A. Kizart-Hampton and DuSable Museum of African American History President/CEO Perri Irmer held a conference at the museum.
Four Black leaders and advocates from LGBTQ community-based organizations discussed how people can bring about a greater change in marginalized communities.
Those four leaders wereAffinity Community Services Executive Director Imani-Rupert-Gordon, Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus Executive Director Erik Elias Glenn, Brave Space Alliance Executive Director LaSaia Wade and Project VIDA Executive Director Jerome Montgomery Jr.. All four provided the audience different ideas and ways in which to bring awareness about educating youth on sex, changing the stigma around HIV/AIDS as a "gay" disease and shedding light on what has already been done to marginalized communities.
Wade said, "We are demanding accountability for the lives that have been lost and the lives that have to do survival work for a system that seeks capitalism, so I sayas my elders and as my ancestors said"Respect the sacrifice that was given to you."
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is observed every year on Feb. 7; Strategic Leadership Council coordinated this day to increase HIV education, testing, treatment and other ways to prevent the disease from spreading among Black communities. This year's theme was "Stay the Course: The Fight Is Not Over."
"Getting tested and getting tested regularly is the first step to helping reduce the spread of HIV as well as getting connected to treatment," Montgomery said. "Secondly, talk with your friends and family and your sexual partners about HIVit's the lack of communication and education which leads to the increase of stigma. Third, volunteer or donate to your local community-based organizations that provide services to those living with HIV.
Montgomery also challenged "everyone to get politically involvedencourage your alderman, mayor, governor, state and federally elected officials to get behind initiatives to support the fight against HIV and AIDS, including comprehensive healthcare coverage such as the ACA."
Audience members were able to ask pressing questions at the end regarding the issue, and could ask for resources to help support their own causes and organization. Kizart-Hampton's departing note was, "The only way to address the institution is to address those who are in charge of the institution." |
|
|
|
This article shared 2219 times since Sun Feb 10, 2019
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Reunion Project hosts Chicago town hall for people aging with HIV 2024-04-24 The Reunion Project is holding a two-day town hall for long-term HIV survivors in Chicago. The town hall will happen 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 17-18 in Loyola University's Kasbeer Hall, 25 E. Pearson St. It's part ...
|
| | Legislation to increase HIV testing, Linkage to Care Act passes Illinois House with bipartisan vote of 106 2024-04-20 --From a press release - SPRINGFIELD — Thursday night, House Bill 5417, the Connection to HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Act, or the HIV TLC Act, championed by State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) passed the Illinois House of Representatives with ...
|
| | Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds third annual Spring Soiree benefit 2024-04-19 Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) hosted the "Courage in Community: The Gerber/ Hart Spring Soiree" event April 18 at Sidetrack, marking the everyday and extraordinary intrepidness of the entire LGBTQ+ ...
|
| | Howard Brown reaches tentative agreement with union after 1.5 years of contentious negotiations 2024-04-18 Howard Brown Health has reached a tentative agreement with its union, after a year and a half of negotiations that included two workers strikes. The Illinois Nurses Association, which represents about 360 employees at Howard Brown ...
|
| | SAVOR Vivent Health/TPAN leader talks about Dining Out for Life 2024-04-17 On Thursday, April 25, people can join the city's restaurant community for Dining Out For Life Chicago, an event ensuring people affected by HIV/AIDS can access essential services. We want to show up in the communities ...
|
| | David E. Munar reflects on Howard Brown leadership and new Columbus, Ohio post 2024-04-11 On April 1, David E. Munar started his tenure as CEO of the Columbus, Ohio-based non-profit health system Equitas. The date marked the latest chapter for Munar, who previously helmed AIDS Foundation Chicago and, most recently, ...
|
| | RUSH, others receive grant related to HIV prevention for Black women 2024-04-11 --From a press release - CHICAGO — RUSH, in collaboration with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, University of Chicago Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago and Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL), has been awarded ...
|
| | WORLD Lesbian sniper, HIV research, marriage items, Chinese singer, Korean festival 2024-04-05 A lesbian Ukrainian sniper and her machine-gun-toting girlfriend are taking the fight to Russia President Vladimir Putin, according to a Daily Beast article. Olga—a veterinarian-turned-soldier—said her comrades don't care about ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29 Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...
|
| | WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21 It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...
|
| | NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15 In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...
|
| | Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12 On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixnerknown for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...
|
| | AMA launches toolkit to increase screenings for HIV, STIs, hepatitis, tuberculosis 2024-03-06 Press release - CHICAGO — With disruptions in clinical care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and viral hepatitis across the U.S., the American Medical Association ...
|
| | NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade 2024-03-01 In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...
|
| | Advocates call for increased HIV funding amid state's 'disappointing' pattern of flat funding 2024-02-27 Governor JB Pritzker's proposed 2025 budget has no increase in HIV funding, continuing a years-long pattern of flat spending toward tackling the epidemic in Illinois. Pritzker outlined his $52.7 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year ...
| |
|
|
|
|