hiv and aids
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HIV/AIDS Is Not ‘A Gay Disease’: The Persistent Myth That Eclipses the Disease’s Impact on Black Women
“I never thought this would happen to me,” she said, in between attempts to catch her breath and wipe away the tears that fell from her face. “HIV isn’t supposed to happen to me.” I will never forget how heavy her words felt as they landed in my ears. The woman was visiting an HIV/AIDS…
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When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong: Georgia Woman Faces Charges After Viral HIV Video
In what may be a case of “when keeping it real goes wrong,” an Americus, Ga., woman is in hot water after authorities say a ploy to get even with all the men she felt had done her wrong apparently went awry. According to the Washington Post, Brandi Yakeima Lasiter decided to take revenge on…
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What Does the New HIV ‘Cure’ Mean for Black People?
Just days ago, there was explosive, positive news on the HIV/AIDS front. Doctors confirmed that another person has been cured of HIV, only the second time this has happened since the virus reared its ugly head more than 37 years ago. Although researchers are officially calling the event “long term remission”—the “London patient,” as he…
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Almost 3,800 Patients Potentially Exposed To HIV & Hepatitis at New Jersey Surgery Center
After a state investigation revealed unsanitary conditions at an outpatient surgery center in northern New Jersey, thousands of patients who were treated there have been advised to get their blood tested, CBS News reports. The HealthPlus Surgery Center, located in Saddle Brook, NJ has contacted a jaw dropping 3,778 patients who received procedures between January…
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Powerful, Immersive Play As Much as I Can Brings Voices of Southern Gay Black Men and HIV/AIDS Awareness to Harlem
Currently, Angels in America, the most Tony Award-nominated play in history, is smack in the middle of its much anticipated revival on Broadway in New York City. Debuting in 1992, Tony Kushner’s iconic and surreal tale tackles external and internal homophobia, Reaganism, McCarthyism and the AIDS epidemic in a much grittier mid-’80s New York City.…
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Trump Wages War on HIV and AIDS Communities
As a black queer man living with HIV, I am nervous about the politically unstable, violently regressive times in which we live. In less than one year in office, President Donald Trump has seemingly put the brakes on 30-plus years of HIV work; in truth, the devastating impact of his reckless decisions has only just…
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On This World AIDS Day, Where Do We Go From Here?
As we roll around to yet another World AIDS Day, it’s clear that the HIV epidemic, which is still very much an epidemic, has faded into the background in a lot of our activism. More than 35 years into the fight, the urgency of years past has faded—in large part because of the gains made…
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New Calif. Law Makes Exposing Sexual Partner to HIV a Misdemeanor: A Big Step in Ending the AIDS Epidemic, Says Prominent Activist
At the top of the year, it will no longer be a felony to knowingly expose a sexual partner to HIV in the state of California. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Friday which put the law, which passed the California Legislature in September, into effect. Previously, knowingly exposing someone to HIV was a crime…
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Major HIV-Vaccine Trial Set to Begin in South Africa
In a promising nod to World AIDS Day, which is Thursday, South African health officials will begin a new HIV vaccine trial Monday, the Washington Post reports. South Africa has been especially hard hit by HIV and AIDS. Nearly 20 percent of the population, or 7 million people, is infected, and in some parts of…