The February 7, 2024, deadline for the 3rd Annual PrEPpy Awards is fast approaching! Has your organization developed a successful campaign to get the message out about PrEP/U=U to priority populations? If your answer is yes, nominate your campaign! Or, nominate another one that you love! For more information on the criteria for submission, visit the website: https://www.biomedicalhivsummit.org/preppy-awards/ Nomination form: https://nmac.submittable.com/submit/277381/2024-preppy-award-nominees
WINNER – Nonprofit Leader of the Year! The Coalition Thanks You For Your Vote
We did it! NMAC’s Coalition for Justice & Equality Across Movements is a Gold Winner in the 2024 Anthem Awards, in the Nonprofit Leader of the Year category! Thank you so much to the Anthem Awards committee, and to everyone who had faith in our mission, and worked hard to get those votes in.
Gay Men of Color Fellowship: Now Accepting Applications!
Join us for an empowering journey as we launch our upcoming fellowship, designed to equip advocates with the tools, knowledge, and mentorship needed to amplify impact and drive change. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to strengthen our community’s voice and make a lasting difference. #HIVAdvocacy #Empowerment #GayMenOfColor #Fellowship”
Apply here today: bit.ly/gmoc2024
¡Únete a nosotres en Miami para la capacitación ESCALATE en español del 26 de febrero al 1 de marzo de 2024!
🌴 Descubre cómo reducir el estigma relacionado con el VIH y haz la diferencia en tu comunidad. Registra tu equipo hoy mismo: https://targethiv.org/escalate/escalate-en-espanol 📚✨ #ESCALATEMiami #VIH #CapacitaciónEnEspañol” “Join us in Miami for the ESCALATE en español training from February 26 to March 1, 2024!
🌴 Discover how to reduce HIV-related stigma and make a difference in your community. Register your team today: https://targethiv.org/escalate/escalate-en-espanol 📚✨ #ESCALATEMiami #HIV #TrainingInSpanish
Join Us in New York for ELEVATE Training in Collaboration with Destination Tomorrow!
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to ELEVATE your skills, knowledge, and leadership. Join us in New York City, where we’ll work together to create a brighter future for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and the organizations that serve them.
GLOW 2024 Application Is Now Open!
This year, priority is given to women who are of Hispanic and or Latino descent. The curriculum will be available in Spanish, with sessions in Puerto Rico and New York, being facilitated in Spanish. Please note the Illinois and California sessions will be in English. Each training is limited to 20 participants. For educational purposes, applications with minimal HIV knowledge and experience will be given priority. Follow the link below to submit your application.
Join Us Live in Honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance: Nov 20
To read, click here.
I came to Washington, DC in 1985 to fight an epidemic that was killing people I loved
To read, click here.
USCHA Dress Code
The United States Conference on HIV/AIDS is a safe space for people highly impacted by HIV. Please read and follow the Anti-Harassment Policy. The gathering values diversity, equality, and justice. Attendees can be themselves in all their fabulosity. However, the world still hates us, so please be careful outside of the bubble. Out of respect and to honor Congresswoman Maxine Waters and all the Black Women (cis & trans) fighting to end the epidemic, we ask attendees to dress in their Sunday Best for the Opening Plenary on Wednesday, September 6th. Crowns are optional but encouraged. Last year staff wore Guayaberas, this year maybe crowns. Being an ally opens your world to new experiences and traditions. Learning the values, hopes, and dreams of the communities we need to reach is central to our work. As we have documented, there is not a one size fits all PrEP program. Our efforts must speak to the diversity of people our work needs to reach and do it by honoring their cultures.
The 2023 USCHA will be one of our largest gatherings. Our movement is showing up for Black Women the way they show up for us. Registration is closed because we’ve reached capacity. I apologize to folks who cannot attend. I know it’s disappointing. There is an underground market for registrations but we do not recommend buying a registration from a stranger.
USCHA asks for patience and understanding when moving thousands of people from workshops to plenaries back to workshops. Community drives the vision and trainings. USCHA thanks the amazing advisory committee:
Early on, I was politely told to stay out. The meeting was curated by Black Women and my job was to learn how to be an ally. Before you talk about what the meeting didn’t include, experience all the new things that are added this year. Let USCHA unfold and be surprised. Don’t let the haters take your joy!
While the focus is on Black Women, the online agenda lists workshops, posters, and institutes that address the variety of communities highly impacted by HIV. It is interesting that I did not get the same feedback last year when we focused on Puerto Rico. Think of the women who sit through too many HIV meetings that mostly prioritize men.
Thirty-five percent of the attendees are living with HIV. COVID is on an upswing. USCHA encourages all attendees to wear masks. Since we are not experts, the conference will follow all local health department rules. We invite participants to be fully vaccinated.
Please use social media to tell the story of Black Women and HIV. There will be many Instagramable Moments! Post or link to NMAC’s Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube pages. HIV is not over; we are still fighting to end the epidemic. The public narrative is dominated by anti-woke elected officials who want to “take America back.” We need a counter narrative that celebrates the beauty and diversity of our communities, particularly the transgender community. If we don’t fight back, they win.
For new attendees, protests are part of the USCHA experience. It is in the DNA of our movement. However, USCHA draws a clear line between protests and violence. Violence is never acceptable. If your agency is planning a demonstration, please let the organizers know in advance. The optics of a protest can be very challenging if you are shutting down the voices of Black Women.
USCHA could not happen without our sponsors, particularly to cover the cost of hundreds of scholarships. We are grateful for their support.
I look forward to seeing everyone. Please be safe, as travel is crazy right now. Download the conference app. Late breaking information will be posted there. There will not be a printed program; however, you can print out the online version.
Yours in the Struggle,
Why A Love Letter?
Kim Ferrell, NMAC’s Deputy Director for Operations, came into my life 18 years ago. I was a broken man struggling to hide my damage. The epidemic had taken a heavy toll. I suffered trauma from losing too many and rage for how long it took to get treatments that worked. Back then I pushed down and denied my emotions and pain. Kim gave me the gift of unconditional love. She was always in my corner helping me to be a better man, even when others stopped believing in me. Even when I stopped believing in myself.
The theme for the 2023 United States Conference on HIV/AIDS is a Love Letter to Black Women. The spark was because Kim is retiring. This love letter thanks her and all the Black Women who fight to end the epidemic.
NMAC’s story would not have happened without Kim. She is our backbone and north star. Staff and the board depend on her counsel, understanding, and good judgement. If you need to get something accomplished, you know to go to Kim. I am proud and honored to celebrate her and all the Black Women leaders who changed our world.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters will keynote the Opening Plenary on Wednesday, September 6th. She is the original OG Black Woman leader who fought with us since the beginning of the epidemic. I first met the Congresswomen back when she was in the California State Assembly. She was close to Archbishop Carl Bean (Minority AIDS Project), so our paths crossed in too many hospital rooms and funerals. NMAC continues to work with her and Congresswoman Barbara Lee on the Minority AIDS Initiative. The MAI is part of her iconic congressional legacy NMAC hopes to turn this legislation into a bill to be named after her, the Maxine Waters Minority AIDS Initiative. Unfortunately, the current Congress makes that impossible.
The conference is almost sold out. Plenaries will be crowded and can get claustrophobic. We ask for patience and understanding. Please let attendees who need support to stand or walk to enter in advance of the rush. The gathering may trigger feelings, so trained counselors are available to help. Contact the USCHA office for more information. The meeting also provides free childcare, but you must register in advance.
The Black Women Who Founded NMAC
This year’s meeting is a love letter to all cis and trans Black Women who work to end the epidemics of HIV, STD, and Hepatitis. I remember the Black Women who were core to NMAC’s history. Two NMAC board members that we lost way too soon, Pandora Singleton and Janet Mitchell. Pandora started Project Azuka, and Janet was a doctor at Harlem Hospital. Rashida Abdul-Khabeer (formerly Hassan), Sandra McDonald, and Marie St Cyr were founding board members along with Suki Ports. Rashida started BEBASHI, Sandra started Outreach, and Marie started WARN (Women’s AIDS Resource Center). Then there are all the powerful Black Women in the field. The reality that there are so many leaders speaks volumes about the important roles Black Women hold in the fight to end HIV, STDs and Hepatitis.
Toni Newman and Lauren Miller show the importance of having trans leaders as staff. They work with NMAC’s TGNC (Transgender & Gender Nonconforming) CAP to bring diverse voices to NMAC and the conference. Gender is a social construct and not binary. People fall all along the spectrum. NMAC acknowledges and supports all the nonbinary and gender nonconforming leaders in our movement. USCHA is dedicated to Black Women and stands in solidarity with all genders.
NMAC’s Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements has partnered with the National Action Network and Drum Major Institute for the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. Join us on Aug 26 because too much is at stake to sit on the sidelines (Mow60.com #MOW60). If you want to march with NMAC at the 60th March on Washington, Saturday, August 26th, at 11 am, and receive a Coalition t-shirt, please email Destiny Pearson
Look online for the latest USCHA information. While the city no longer requires proof of vaccination, USCHA encourages everyone to wear masks. Please be up to date with vaccines. If you feel sick, isolate in your room, and call the conference office.
Part of me thinks my Asian ancestors would be appalled by such a public display of affection, and maybe that’s why I wrote this letter. I wanted to show Kim that I was listening and to let Black Women know how thankful NMAC is for your leadership and courage. Our movement is stronger and more compassionate because of you. We are forever grateful.
Yours in the Struggle,