“We Are Here: Black Gay Men in the South, ” is a blog tour curated by the Counter Narrative Project and the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance to amplify the voices of black gay men in the South. Each day for the next week, a new piece will be posted. For more information, feel free to contact: thecounternarrative@gmail.com
When R esilience...
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AFC Public Allies Intern Lawrence Turner covered two events to commemorate National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day that were sponsored by AFC — the Black Gay Guys Rock Monologues, a night of storytelling on Sept. 24 about experiences among black gay men, and Sex in the City II, a daylong conference on Sept. 25 that unpacked a spectrum of joys and concerns faced by the black gay male...
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Dear Friends:
It is with pleasure that I announce that, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), we have appointed John Peller as AFC’s new president/CEO.
After a rigorous national search, the board unanimously decided John was the best person to lead the organization. Given his proven leadership and accomplishments in the sector coupled...
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The Team to End AIDS (T2) has for five years offered people who are interested in completing an endurance event the opportunity to raise significant funds toward the fight to end HIV/AIDS while getting trained for athletic success. Through its triathlon, Steelhead, half-marathon and marathon training programs and fundraising guidance, T2 athletes have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars —...
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Art has the powerful capacity to unite communities.
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) collaborated with Chicago artist Anastasia Mak, who created a memorable T-shirt design for top fundraisers participating in AFC's upcoming event, AIDS Run & Walk Chicago. As event day approaches, participants are connecting with their communities to support vital HIV/AIDS services. Mak's...
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After being diagnosed as HIV-positive two years ago, Chicago-based performance artist, multimedia producer, documentarian and teacher Joe Varisco felt an absence: Where are the narratives around HIV that reflected his story, the story and experiences of his communities and their lives?
In the months after his diagnosis, he immersed himself in media representations that told the story...
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The best way so solve a problem is to know it from all angles. That’s why Alan Johnson, Linkage to Care Coordinator at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, enrolled in the African American HIV University Science and Treatment College , a year-long research and training program that examines HIV/AIDS from every angle.
Sponsored by the Black AIDS Institute and the University of California,...
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HIV — it’s not just a problem in large metropolitan areas. In fact, about one-third of the HIV/AIDS cases in Illinois are among people living outside of Chicago. That’s why places like Open Door Clinic are needed — to serve people living with and at increased vulnerability for HIV in places like Aurora and Elgin.
Sacha Urban, a passionate HIV/AIDS advocate and longtime...
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How do you overcome stigma — the dark shadow over an idea or thing that makes people jump to drastic conclusions? For Brad Setter, it’s all about awareness — bringing the thing that’s so stigmatized into the public light to get rid of the shadow.
Setter, a 24-year-old student at College of DuPage, knows a thing or two about stigma. He served in the US Marine Corps from...
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In an invited talk at the 2014 STD Prevention Conference , the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Director of Research, Evaluation and Data Services, Amy Johnson, along with UIC Associate Professor Supriya Mehta, discussed the application of search engine data to sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance. Highlighting their current study published in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases...
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