It’s Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day!

March 12, 2021

The day we’ve been counting down to since last fall is finally here: PWN’s first annual Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day.

Black women have been at the forefront of the HIV response since the earliest days of the domestic epidemic. Black women have marched, led, care-taken, stood in solidarity with gay and bisexual men, and demanded that the CDC recognize women-specific AIDS-defining conditions. Black cis and trans women living with HIV and allies have founded and led organizations, fought for resources to be equitably distributed, created conferences and gatherings to support people living with HIV, and consistently demanded a racial and gender equity lens on the HIV epidemic.  

Today PWN honors every Black woman who has committed any part of herself to our collective fight against HIV and its impacts.

We invite organizations that serve people living with HIV and communities affected by HIV to celebrate and honor Black women in the movement with us by doing the following:

• Reflect on the role and power of Black women within your own organizations, including professional development and career advancement opportunities for Black women, and how Black women are reflected throughout your decision-making structure.
• Honor the expertise of Black women working for and volunteering with your organization, including through equitable pay, creating safe spaces within the organization for Black women, and by committing to ask what they need to show up as their full selves each day.
• Support and fund Black women-led organizations.
• Demand a domestic HIV response that centers the needs and leadership of Black transgender and cisgender women, including but not limited to a federal policy agenda that elevates the priorities of Black women living with HIV, appointments by Black women to senior roles in the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and appointments by Black women living with HIV the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA).
• Commit to an internal audit of anti-Blackness and creating a plan to address it.

Simply put, we want you to:

#ListenToBlackWomen

#PayBlackWomen

#RespectBlackWomen

#ProtectBlackWomen

#HonorBlackWomen

Join Us at 2pm EST/1pm CST/12pm MST/11am PST Today for Our Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Town Hall!

Within our movement, Black women hold a lot of expertise. This town hall will showcase a few of the areas where Black women offer powerful leadership and deserve recognition.

We will be joined by community and organization experts to discuss the practical ways that Black women can and should be honored and supported in the HIV movement.

And we’ll have some entertainment for you as well! Join us.

We will hear from:

• Raniyah Copeland of Black AIDS Institute on #TrustandHonorBlackWomen;
• Dafina Ward of Southern AIDS Coalition and Alecia Tramel-McIntyre of Positive People Network on #PayBlackWomen;
• Krista Martel at The Well Project on #ListentoBlackWomen;

Help Spread the Word and Share the Joy on Social Media!

We have put together a social media toolkit for you with sample posts and some amazing GIFs you can use to celebrate and honor Black women in the HIV movement this week!

Use the tweets TODAY at 2pm EST/1pm CST/12pm MST/11am PST for our Twitter storm!

And share content all day–every day! It’s always the right time to celebrate and honor Black women in the HIV movement!

Join PWN Pennsylvania on Facebook Live at 1pm EST/12pm CST/11am MST/10am PST for a Maya Angelou Watch Party!

PWN Pennsylvania leaders are celebrating Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day with a special watch party on Facebook Live starting at 1pm EST, right before our town hall. Tune in and get the party started right!