The views and opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the position of Positive Women’s Network – USA.

By: Myra Ann Franks, PWN-AL outreach coordinator
September 29, 2023

Several years after my diagnosis, my case manager said to me, “You’re going to be the face of HIV one day.”  The thought of being “that person” scared me so much that I slipped away and hid for quite some time. The only people I knew at that time who had HIV were me and my significant other. Stigma. Fear. Shame. Isolation. Death. These are the things associated with HIV and I could never be “that person” –but that was then. 

Fast forwarding 13 years or so, I found myself connecting to other people living with HIV and they were thriving! My hunger for knowledge grew and I pressed my way through a few barriers, (mainly transportation because I live in a rural area) and somehow made my way in spaces, volunteering to share this information with the handful of people I had ran across in my area. I never saw myself attending any major conferences and someone took notice of me and encouraged me to go to one in Virginia and it was an amazing experience. But when I heard that the focus of the United States Conference on HIV/Aids (USCHA) Conference would be a love letter to Black women, I took the initiative and applied for a scholarship. With fingers crossed, I opened the email….and found out that I was not accepted.

I felt bad, mainly because not many people from my area get the scholarships. BUT…this great organization, RIBBON, saw the need for more women of color to attend and they created a scholarship for women of color who had never attended USCHA. My application was accepted and I became a RIBBON Ambassador! Upon arriving at the airport, my insecurities kicked in ‘cause usually I travel with family or friends but I had been assigned a DaDa mentor and she was most helpful (DaDa means Sister in Swahili), even when I called multiple times trying to maneuver from point A to B. My newfound sister made me feel safe, accepted, and loved!!!

Even with all the DaDa Ambassadors gatherings, the sessions, and plenary, I still sought out my PWN sisters, some of which were also RIBBON attendees! Now, I had to make a hard choice…either attend sessions with people who were familiar to me; or go where I could gain knowledge to bring awareness to my community, improve quality of life for my peers who also live in the rural areas, and just make a difference where people always thought there’s nothing we can do. USCHA is all about changing narratives! I ended up attending more of the faith based sessions. I made notable connections,  and wish to model their approach to educating people of faith about issues so that the Stigma, Fear, Shame, Isolation, and even Death associated with HIV will be no more.

I put a stitch in time in the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels for Tiffany & Rymsky*…both gone too soon! We laughed together and cried together as we shared bits and pieces of our lives. I FELT the power from Resilient Dandelions, heard powerful speakers, and enjoyed amazing performances; especially Yolanda Adams–my favorite gospel singer ever!!!! I’m her biggest fan! 😇 Anyway….. Maybe I’m not the face of HIV, but have certainly grown into being “That Person”!  I see that being visible can literally save someone’s life!  Such an amazing experience being in Washington  meeting so many powerful, amazing people! I’m still on cloud nine from every moment of USCHA and look forward to next year’s conference!!!!!


*Tiffany Marrero and Rymsky Evans, HIV activists who transitioned in 2023.

Check out photos of our members at USCHA 2023 on Flickr.