Together… We Can Make HIV Black History: A Photo Story

by Haneen Elfaki

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is an annual day of awareness that takes place on February 7th of each year. It was founded in 1999 by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, and is a day dedicated to raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on Black communities, reduce stigma, promote HIV testing and treatment, and encourage people to get involved in HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts. 

Events are held throughout the country on this day, including education seminars, health fairs, and other activities designed to bring attention to the issue. Additionally, community-based organizations, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the African American AIDS Task Force, and others are active participants in this day of awareness, providing important resources and services to the community. In honor of NBHAAD, the Emory COMPASS Coordinating Center would like to highlight three organizations that have partnered with COMPASS in the past and have made a great impact on HIV/AIDS in Black communities in the Southern states.  

House of Serenity, Inc. (HOS) is a nonprofit organization that pledges to empower women and trans-women of color by promoting self-preservation through holistic healing. The target populations for HOS are women and trans women of color in Jacksonville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Emory COMPASS has made an immense impact on House of Serenity’s rebranding by expanding their services and equipping them with a solid financial foundation. Moreover, COMPASS has supported their work to advocate for women and trans-women of color to know their status. It is the desire of HOS to become a safe haven for these populations and to be the voice for the voiceless through social activism. HOS refers to the populations that they serve as ‘Queens’.  

HOS recently created an HIV Prevention Social Media Campaign entitled “Queen 2 Queen”. The campaign worked with cis-gender women and trans-women of color.  

The concept of the campaign is that all women are Queens whether they are cis–gender or trans. Queens should uplift each other and encourage one another to take control of their sexual health by getting tested for HIV and knowing their status.  

“Transforming lives one queen at a time.” -Dr. Delitta Scott Dixon, Executive Director of House of Serenity Inc. 

Another partner organization that is making great strides in the move to end the Black HIV/AIDS epidemic is Unspoken Treasure Society (UTS). UTS is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping find solutions to the needs of the trans community of color. Since its inception in 2018, Unspoken Treasure Society now has three chapters, in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Atlanta, Georgia. Emory COMPASS has provided UTS training in organization building, board development, fundraising, and capacity building. These trainings gave UTS the resources to rebrand and make a greater impact in their mission and vision. Unspoken Treasure Society’s vision is to provide resources so that those affected by HIV/AIDS will have the same opportunities; whether it’s job placement, affordable and fair housing, safe sex education, HIV testing and counseling, suicide prevention and/or advocating for victims of domestic abuse.  

The Purple Orchid is a program founded by Unspoken Treasure Society that brings together Black and Brown trans-women and cis-women living with HIV to dismantle stigmas that exist between the two in order to come together to create community-led solutions to end poverty, miseducation, and the HIV epidemic. Through this program UTS provides education, and opportunities for leadership building by training future peer specialists and introduces 10 people per cohort for each intensive 8-week training. This program includes educating and training trans-women of color in safe sex practices and HIV prevention, managing emotions to make informed decisions, and to become a voice for not only themselves but others alike. Below are pictures of the 2022 Purple Orchid Master Peer Specialist training graduates.  

“Coming together to build bridges to a healthier community ending the epidemic” – Regina Livingston, Founder and CEO of Unspoken Treasure Society

Another impactful organization in the work against HIV/AIDS in the Black community is the Normal Anomaly Initiative. The Normal Anomaly Initiative is a nonprofit working with passion, inclusiveness, and boldness for the forward mobility of Black, queer persons. Through direct services such as transportation, STI self-testing, employment services, and Leadership Advocacy Programs such as the Power in Organizing, Wellness, and Resilience (P.O.W.R.) and Transgender Allyship Collective (T.A.C.) they are keeping to their slogan of “Eliminating Barriers and Creating New Norms”. 

The Normal Anomaly has had the opportunity to participate in many trainings and grants through COMPASS that have been a major part of the organization’s success. In 2022, they received the Transformative Grant which helped them develop the infrastructure for their organization to establish 501c3 status. In addition, the funds from the grant allowed them to create the BQ+ Pickup Program which is a transportation program that allows Black queer persons to access Lyft rides to doctor’s appointments, counseling, and job opportunities. They were able to help over 100 people access these services over 500 times through this program. Moreover, BQ+ Pickup is just one of the programs that Normal Anomaly has created to support the Black queer population. Below are some photos from other programs and events that catered to their community. 

The Marque Awards is an event honoring community leaders that engages them to commit to being a part of developing the infrastructure for continued community support. Pictured is Roxanne Collins doing an impression of Chaka Khan.

The Butch+Queen Brunch was an event sponsored by the COVID-19 Prevention Network in collaboration with Dwyane Williams, Jr. and Deondre Moore to create a brave space to talk about holistic health in the after effects of COVID-19. It was a mixture of music, dancing, photo opportunities, and education.

The Black Queer AF Music Festival is an event that is a time to completely center the Black, queer community in music, education, collaboration, and programming. Pictured are some of The Normal Anomaly Team members on the stage of Black Queer AF Music Festival 2022.

This moment at the Black Queer AF Music Festival honored community members that we lost throughout that year through spoken word with Marvin Anderson (pictured) and song. 

“We don’t build from a broken community. All the power in our history and in the community now is what we use to fuel our programs, resources, and opportunities. Our community lacks access, not capacity nor tools.”- Ian L. Haddock, Founder and Executive Director, The Normal Anomaly Initiative, Inc.

It is important to remember that HIV/AIDS is a preventable disease, and that effective methods of prevention are available. We must use our collective knowledge to create awareness and resources for those living with HIV/AIDS, as well as to prevent further spread of the virus. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that everyone is educated and informed about HIV/AIDS, and that we continue to work together to reduce and eliminate the effects of this virus in the Black community. We must support each other, encourage and create dialogue, and provide the necessary resources to ensure that everyone is aware of the risks and is able to receive the care and support they need. By working together, we can create a brighter future and a healthier world for our communities.