As one of over 25,000 African Americans living with HIV in Atlanta and as the Georgia State Lead for Positive Women’s Network – USA, a national advocacy organization of women living with HIV, I was alarmed to hear the spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff’s
Do you have an interesting opinion to share? If you can express it clearly and persuasively in an op-ed article, you may reach millions of people, sway hearts, change minds and perhaps even reshape public policy. In the process, you may also earn recognition for
Growing up in Chicago in the ’80s and ’90s, I went to school just down the street from Kenwood High School, where award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer R. Kelly notoriously preyed on young black girls. We all knew it was happening. When I was 17, at a
WASHINGTON, DC – (December 6, 2019) Today, the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) released its national HIV/AIDS policy agenda on Black Women’s Health titled The HIV/AIDS Policy Agenda for Black Women. The agenda also features contributions from other leading women’s health organizations, which include the
Today is Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. And so often the awareness of how HIV/AIDS impacts Black women falls between the cracks, but it is so real. Did you know that the CDC estimates that 230,000 women in the US have been diagnosed with HIV? Or that Black women have
Today is December 1, the annual observance of World AIDS Day. Every year, on this day, we are surrounded by messages from organizations and individuals, asking us to remember those we have lost, encouraging us to stay strong as we continue to move through this
World AIDS Day makes me thankful for the achievements made to subdue the epidemic since it reared its ugly head in the 1980s. I was working for New York City’s Health and Hospital Corporation then. I was responsible for figuring out how many beds we
We think of women’s health issues in boxes (the diabetes box, the depression box, the hypertension box). But, in fact, our health concerns are more like a maze of rooms with doors that lead from one space to another. Take HIV. We think of it
The question was raised recently during a conference that focused on HIV in the U.S. and how we can increase awareness of the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) that prevents HIV infection in HIV-negative people. At the close of the conference, one of the speakers asked
In 2003, I was pregnant, homeless, and HIV-positive. But worst of all, I felt completely helpless and had nowhere to turn for help. I received my diagnosis after my senior year of high school. In college, I thought I might be pregnant. I went to