Black Power on Black HIV Awareness Day

As Black HIV advocates doing movement work in the United States South, we recognize the urgency and necessity of reframing the narrative around addressing the epidemic in our region. The history of slavery, Jim Crow, and racial violence as well as the horrors of the present, have shaped our current political moment in ways that are indispensable to how HIV impacts our lives. However, our history is not only horror. We are nourished by the beauty and joy of our movement history, inspired by the courage of our ancestors whose shoulders we stand on to fight our current battles in the HIV movement. So on this National Black HIV Awareness Day, we are demanding a renewed commitment to address HIV in the South, rooted in a black lens.

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#1 We must speak for ourselves
Black people should lead the conversation around HIV in the South. Any conversation around HIV in the South, that does not center the voices of black folks, is a failed enterprise from the start. We will call out and seek redress from organizations that do not adhere to this demand.

#2 Black Leadership
Racial equity means that organizational leadership in the region must reflect communities most impacted. We insist upon a commitment to create and sustain new black-led organizations and adequately support existing black-led organizations, there must be black leadership on the senior and executive levels of AIDS Service Organizations, on the board of directors level, and in county and state health departments. Furthermore, we must ensure that blacks living with HIV are afforded the opportunities to fully participate as subject matter experts whether that be in organizations or at decision-making tables. We are asking organizations that work in the South to re-examine your boards and staff and to take steps to change if it is not reflective of black leadership. You cannot understand our needs and have our best interests at heart if you do not include us at every level of your organizations.

#3 Celebrate Commonality and Honor Diversity Among Black People
Black people are not homogeneous. We, of the African diaspora experience the same intraracial bias, gender inequalities and anti-blackness. Our unconquerable spirit and generosity have enabled us to survive centuries of slavery, systematic oppression, and stigmatization and become a mighty people of varied social, cultural, political, and economic expressions. What we do share, as a people, is the determination to not proceed with this effort in a position of powerlessness and helplessness. Therefore, we ask that all who desire to join us on this quest for justice and wellness, check yourself and do the internal work which will enable you to move past any lingering prejudices and biases, spoken and unspoken.

#4 Fund Us, By Us
We find ourselves facing a moment, that requires rethinking how grantmaking and funding happens in the South. Innovative programmatic approaches should include: (1) Courageous funding for general operating support of black-led organizations. (2) Funding for sabbaticals and transition planning for movement elders. (3) Policy fellowships to deepen the bench of black advocates to shape federal, state and local public policy around HIV. (4) Culturally grounded behavioral interventions that raise awareness and educate our communities. And finally (5), convening for cross-generational conversations, political education, base building, and peer mentorship.

HIV is a racial justice issue. Any programmatic, policy, or research effort must address root causes and structural factors. This statement is not meant to be exhaustive but seeks to start a conversation, as we insist upon a vision for addressing HIV in the South rooted in an unapologetically black and racial justice lens.

#5 Accountability to Us
If you work in our communities, you must be accountable to us. Organizations have received millions of dollars in funding and have failed to stem the tide of the HIV epidemic. We will no longer accept as status quo that although blacks represent 13% of the US population, we represent almost 50% of people living with HIV. We no longer accept that the South is the epicenter of the epidemic and disproportionately impacts black communities. Organizations, health departments, and others have failed to serve our communities and have been allowed to operate without accountability. If you work for us, you must answer to us.

The crisis of our present moment, need not be our future. Any path toward ending the epidemic in the South, must center a response that elevates, resources, and nurtures black leadership at every level. We believe that by shifting how we approach the epidemic in the South, in a way where power is more equitably distributed, we will move the needle.