THE SIMPSONS’ VICTOR GARBER LEGENDARY’S SAVION GARCON MYKKI BLANCO TONI NEWMAN
DRAG RACE STAR
TRINITY K. BONET ON BEING POSITIVE, UNDETECTABLE, AND “NOBODY’S SECRET”
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ON THE COVER 30 QUEEN OF THE PEOPLE Legendary performer and Drag Race alumni Trinity K. Bonet continues to use her platform to speak up about mental health, Black Lives Matter, and living with HIV.
FEATURES 16 NO PLACE TO CALL HOME Can the ongoing HIV housing crisis in Atlanta be resolved? 22 TONI, TONI, TONI Author, advocate, and trans woman Toni Newman continues to prove she's got the right stuff to lead us toward a brighter future.
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26 VIVA LA VICTOR Veteran star of stage and screen Victor Garber reflects on living and working through the AIDS crisis. 44 ART OF AN ERA A new book and gallery show examines the importance of AIDS posters of the past.
ON THE COVER & ABOVE Trinity K. Bonet photographed by David Martinez @dmvrtinez
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contents TREATMENT
6 PANDEMIC PIGGYBACK Could the science behind COVID-19 vaccines lead to one for HIV?
BUZZWORTHY
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10 THE MIGHTY MYKKI Hip-hop artist Mykki Blanco speaks out about HIV stigma. 11 DATING DISCRIMINATION App users are fed up with stigma. 12 PRAGER PROBLEMS Far-right talk host Dennis Prager puts his foot in his mouth. Again. 13 RACISM REFORM? NYC declares racism a health crisis. But will it actually help people of color? 13 HARSH REALITIES The latest stats on Black people and HIV.
DAILY DOSE
14 KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON Reflecting on the strength and perseverance of Black people.
WELLNESS
40 DANGER ZONE These red flags can help you determine if you are in an abusive relationship. 41 LATINX LIFELINE A health series for LGBTQ+ Latinx folks.
RICH FU RY/G E T T Y IMAG ES ( 1 0); COLU M B IA PIC TU RES/G E T T Y IMAG ES (26); SHOT IN TH E CIT Y PHOTOG R APHY (2 2)
PARTING SHOT
42 BALLROOM BRAVERY Legendary star Savion Garcon opens up about living with HIV.
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chief executive officer & executive editorial director DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL editorial director, print NEAL BROVERMAN
executive vice president, publishing director JOE VALENTINO
editor in chief DESIRÉE GUERRERO
vice president, brand partnerships & sales STUART BROCKINGTON
EDITORIAL managing editor DONALD PADGETT editors at large TYLER CURRY, ALEX COOPER senior copy editor TRUDY RING contributing editors KHAFRE ABIF, MARK S. KING mental health editor GARY MCCLAIN staff writers MEY RUDE, RACHEL SHATTO contributing writers JOHN CASEY, ASHLEY INNES, ANDRE JACKSON, JIM FARMER ART executive creative director RAINE BASCOS art director BEN WARD editor at large, digital art CHRISTOPHER HARRITY PRINT PRODUCTION production director JOHN LEWIS production editor JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL PRIDE MEDIA EDITORIAL editorial director, print NEAL BROVERMAN editorial director, digital MIKELLE STREET editor in chief, the advocate TRACY E. GILCHRIST editor at large, the advocate JOHN CASEY editor in chief, out DANIEL REYNOLDS digital director, out.com RAFFY ERMAC editor in chief, out traveler JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL digital director, pride TAYLOR HENDERSON director of podcasts & special projects JEFFREY MASTERS ADVERTISING & BRAND PARTNERSHIPS vice president, ad operations STEWART NACHT manager, ad operations TIFFANY KESDEN managing director, brand partnerships JAMIE TREDWELL creative director, brand partnerships MICHAEL LOMBARDO senior manager, brand partnerships TIM SNOW junior manager, advertising & brand partnerships REEMA THARANI DIGITAL vice president, technology & development ERIC BUI social media manager CHRISTINE LINNELL social media editor JAVY RODRIGUEZ CIRCULATION director of circulation ARGUS GALINDO FINANCE/ACCOUNTING vice president, finance BETSY SKIDMORE accounts receivable controller LORELIE YU accounting manager PAULETTE KADIMYAN OPERATIONS director of human resources DRU FORBES chief of staff DUSTINA HAASE-LANIER ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Phone (212) 242-8100 • Advertising Fax (212) 242-8338 Subscriptions Fax (212) 242-8338 EDITORIAL Phone (310) 806-4288 • Fax (310) 806-4268 • Email editor@HIVPlusMag.com
FREE BULK SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR YOUR OFFICE OR GROUP Any organization, community-based group, pharmacy, physicians’ office, support group, or other agency can request bulk copies for free distribution at your office, meeting, or facility. To subscribe, visit HIVPlusMag.com/signup There is a 10-copy minimum. FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS Plus magazine is available free to individual subscribers — a digital copy of each issue can be delivered to the privacy of your computer or reader six times per year. We require only your email address to initiate delivery. You may also share your digital copies with friends. To subscribe, visit HIVPlusMag.com/signup NEED SUBSCRIPTION HELP? If you have any questions or problems with your bulk or individual magazine delivery, please email our circulation department at Argus.Galindo@pridemedia.com Plus (ISSN 1522-3086) is published bimonthly by Pride Publishing Inc. Plus is a registered trademark of Pride Publishing Inc. Entire contents ©2022 by Pride Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
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editor’s letter
COU RTESY
by desirée guerrero
AT THIS POINT, it’s been well publicized that Black communities are disproportionately affected by HIV. We also know that this is primarily due to factors stemming from systemic racism — such as a lack of access to proper information, treatment, prevention methods, housing, and other basic needs. However in this issue, our annual African-American issue, I want to highlight just how pro-active and mobilized this community has become in turning the tide. People of color, from authors to activists to actors to politicians, have emerged as some of today’s most innovative and inspiring leaders in the fight against HIV and its stigma. And the proof is in the pudding. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, progress has been made in reducing HIV diagnoses among Black people in recent years. Between 2014 and 2018, HIV diagnoses decreased 7 percent among AfricanAmericans overall. The rate decreases were especially promising among certain age groups. For example, HIV diagnoses decreased by 17 percent among people aged 13 through 24. This kind of positive change is in part thanks to organizations like the Black AIDS Institute, which has been on the frontlines for this community since 1999 — and folks like Toni Newman, BAI’s new interim executive director. As a Black trans woman who’s been advocating for sex workers and people living with HIV for nearly three decades, Newman brings a fresh and
much-needed voice to the table. Read more about her extraordinary life, her new role at BAI, and her advice on just how to get that seat at the table on page 22. While the Black Lives Matter movement forced this country to finally confront systemic racism, the work has essentially only just begun. Guest writer Jim Farmer takes a deep dive into Atlanta’s HIV housing crisis that continues to roil the city and its many Black residents (page 16). Is the city’s continued gentrification to blame for the failure of a federal program intended to help HIV-positive folks find housing? Still, despite the centuries of harrowing hardships African-Americans have faced in the U.S., the community remains powerfully resilient — which writer Ashley Innes so beautifully reminds us of in her “Love Letter to Black People” on page 14. Also, many brave Black celebrities continue to open up about living with HIV, and by doing so, help to eradicate stigma in their communities. Seven years before Pose star Billy Porter came out as HIV-positive, our cover star Trinity K. Bonet (page 30) told her truth on national television in 2014. The drag superstar again brought awareness to the mainstream with her recent run on Drag Race All Stars, where she used the powerful platform to educate viewers about U=U, the scientific consensus that a person with HIV cannot transmit the disease if their viral load is undetectable. We also chat with mega-talented performer Savion Garcon of HBO’s Legendary, who joined a growing list of trailblazers by recently coming out as living with HIV (page 42). Though this issue focuses on the African-American community, the bigger picture remains clear: HIV will never be completely eradicated until people from all walks of life join forces. And in the meantime, we can learn from and be grateful for our many Black soldiers in this fight.
Peace & Blessings, desirée guerrero editor in chief
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T R E AT M E N T
A NEW HOPE
IN DEVELOPING A SHOT THAT BLUNTS COVID-19, RESEARCHERS MAY HAVE ALSO UNLOCKED THE SCIENCE NEEDED TO FINALLY DEVELOP A VACCINE FOR HIV.
THE
COVID -19
PANDEMIC
has caused a significant loss of resources for HIV research, services, treatment, and more, as the focus went to pushing through a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. However, some of the technology developed in response to the pandemic may be the key to developing better treatments for HIV — and even a vaccine against it. For over a decade, there have been a host of advances in HIV treatment and prevention. These include new drug combinations, once-a-day dosing, and long-acting injectables. The next frontier, researchers hope, is finding a proper vaccine — though 6
many caution that’s still years away. But some experimental vaccines have shown enough promise to be part of human trials, including those using messenger RNA, the key factor in the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. “Research on an HIV vaccine has been going on for years, with some advancements, and many disappointments. But I understand that through these disappointments, knowledge is gained, and together with the new knowledge gained by COVID-19 vaccines, perhaps we can finally find success with an HIV vaccine,” Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, tells Plus.
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BY ALEX COOPER
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T h i s fall, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Scripps Research, Moderna, and some other pa r tners a nnounced a p h a s e I c l i n ic a l study for two vaccine candidates, both using mR NA . T he candidates, m R N A 16 4 4 a n d m R N A 1644v2 (a variant of mR NA 1644), provide an instruction book-like code that cells use to create fragments of proteins that then sit outside of a targeted virus, like HIV. An immune response is eventually triggered. “The difficulties of vaccine candidates that have been tested in people so far is that none of them produced broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against HIV, which are antibodies produced by the host immune system that have the ability to block HIV in target cells,” Dr. Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of IAVI, told WebMD. The new trial involves 56 people who will be divided into four groups. Two groups will receive both variants and the other two will receive one of the variants. Researchers will see if the desired immune response is present. “Moderna [is] testing a complicated concept which starts the immune response against HIV,” Robin Shattock, an immunologist at Imperial College London,
told The Independent. “It gets you to first base, but it’s not a home run. Essentially we recognize that you need a series of vaccines to induce a response that gives you the breadth needed to neutralize HIV.” He added, “It’s quite likely that their technology may allow them to start to look at that process, but we’re a very long way away from an effective vaccine.” Aside from mR NA vaccines, new HIV treatments are going to human trials as well. For example, Excision BioTherapeutics was given the goahead by the U.S. Food and Drug Ad m in ist rat ion in S ept ember t o conduct human trials for a new drug called EBT-101. The drug would use gene editing to prevent HIV from mutating in the body in hopes of achieving a socalled functional cure — meaning HIV would remain undetectable even if a person discontinued antiretroviral t r e a t ment . R e s e a r c her s pl a n t o give trial participants one dose of EBT-101, followed by three months of antiretrov iral dr ugs, and then discontinue the antiretrovirals to see if the virus resurges. The functional cure distinction means that there would be no way to find out if the treatment removed every viral genome from a person. Developing a cure or vaccine for HIV is difficult for several reasons. HIV can mutate quickly, faster than the body can react appropriately. It can also hide or camouflage itself. So researchers keep trying new approaches to meet the virus’s challenges. H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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buzzworthy
STIGMA STOMPER OUTSPOKEN MUSICIAN MYKKI BLANCO CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE FOLKS TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES AND FIGHT HIV STIGMA. BY DESIRÉE GUERRERO RAPPER
AND
PERFORMANCE
artist Mykki Blanco (who uses they/ them pronouns) has been a fierce advocate for people living with HIV since they opened up about their own positive status in 2015. At the time, they were one of the only Black artists in the hip-hop world to do so.
Blanco came out on Facebook during Pride season, writing, “I’ve been HIV-Positive since 2011, my entire career. Fuck stigma and hiding in the dark, this is my real life. I’m healthy, I’ve toured the world 3 times but I’ve been living
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in the dark, it’s time to actually be as punk as I say I am…. No more living a lie. HAPPY PRIDE.” These days, Blanco continues to be an outspoken advocate and champion in fighting HIV stigma. Earlier this year in a cover feature interview with British GQ Style, they spoke about the need for more sex-positivity and HIV inclusion within the realm of sex education in schools. “I probably did have some [HIV education], but it would’ve been a blip,’ Blanco told GQ. “It was very biological. You learn about the parts, no mention of pleasure. A teacher saying one line, ‘When you are older you will have intercourse and you may wear a condom so that you don’t have an unwanted child.’ It was very clinical.” And now Blanco is once again using their platform to take a swing at stigma. Reposting an old social media message on Instagram recently, they further added to the conversation. “I made this post over a year ago at the peak of the pandemic,” wrote Blanco. “As the month comes to an end we are fast approaching World AIDS day on 12/1/2021. This year before December 1st hits I hope we can truly think deeply about the power of stigma.” The several-paragraph post goes on to discuss things like Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) and attitudes around HIV in a postCOVID world. “In the wake of COVID I challenge you to re-educate yourself about HIV. I challenge you to take some time, read [a] few recent articles, studies, journals. I challenge you to meet or befriend someone who lives with HIV. I challenge you to think not only of HIV affecting Queer populations or POC but the reality that at this point it affects every walk of life regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, or age.” Blanco’s latest album, Broken Hearts and Beauty Sleep, is now streaming on all major digital music platforms.
RICH FU RY/G E T T Y IMAG ES
Mykki Blanco performs onstage during the OUTLOUD: Raising Voices Concert Series in June 2021.
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A KINDER GRINDR?
SH UT TERSTOCK
Gay dating app users are fed up with discrimination and stigma around race, body type, and HIV status.
“Tired of stigma? So are we.” That’s the tagline of the NiceAF campaign, which encourages kinder, more respectful behavior and language on LGBTQ+ dating apps such as Grindr, Scruff, and Jack’d. While the popularity of these dating apps has grown immensely over the last decade, so have complaints about their toxicity. The NiceAF campaign recently released a report with the results of a survey about what app users want to see happen to create a kinder, safer, and less hostile dating environment. The survey was conducted from April through June of this year, and included 5,500 responses from app and site users. The survey’s summary states that toxic and abusive language dressed up as preferences — such as “No fats,” “No femmes,” and “Clean only” [HIVnegative], and “their derogatory implications” are all too prevalent. Yale University researchers John Pachankis, Ph.D., and Charles Burton, Ph.D., found that for some gay and bi men, being repeatedly rejected by other gay and bi men online is associated with greater risk for HIV and symptoms of depression and anxiety. “The No. 1 recommendation from app users was that they
want unlimited blocks and... don’t want to have to pay for it,” said Jen Hecht, a queer woman who cofounded Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC), to San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter. “We know queer people face discrimination externally, but when negativity happens within the community that can have a negative impact on mental health and wellbeing...more harmful than the external negative experience.” The 36-page report also gives recommendations for the app, based on the survey respondents’ answers. Suggestions include unlimited blocks, more profile customization
options, expanding filtering ability, and prioritizing the needs of users who experience stigma in future development. Dan Wohlfeiler is a gay man who has been working in HIV and STI prevention for decades who cofounded BHOC with Hecht. According to Wohlfeiler, these apps especially need to “prioritize people of color and trans people,” who often bear the brunt of discrimination in app settings. As one trans respondent stated in the survey, “Many of us who are trans see slurs in people’s profiles. Many of us are in vulnerable positions. People will attack you. We should have protection.”— D G H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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BIG MOUTH STRIKES AGAIN
Here’s what he said: “ D uring the AIDS crisis, can you imagine if gay m en and FAR-RIGHT MEDIA PERSONALITY DENNIS PRAGER intravenous CAUSES OUTRAGE AFTER SUGGESTING ANTIdrug users, or VAXXERS ARE SUFFERING WORSE THAN THOSE the vast majority WHO LIVED WITH HIV DURING THE AIDS CRISIS. of people with AIDS, had they BY DESIRÉE GUERRERO been pariahs the aking grandiose, highly way the nonvaccinated are? But it offensive statements is would’ve been inconceivable.” Many are outraged that Prager nothing new to extremeright talk show host Dennis would claim HIV-positive gay people Prager. In fact, insulting marginalized and drug users were not pariahs groups has become a tried-and-true when the opposite is the truth — ratings formula for conservative not to mention members of those media personalities since the days of groups still face rampant stigma and discrimination. In addition, Prager is Rush Limbaugh. Prager was recently at it again, also erroneously comparing a virus this time gaslighting sufferers of that cannot be spread through casual the 1980s and ’90s AIDS crisis by contact (HIV) to one that is still deadly comparing them to those who and can easily be passed through refuse the COVID vaccine. Not only casual contact (COVID-19). Soon after, the topics of HIV and did Prager have the audacity to compare the discrimination faced COVID were trending on Twitter, with by those early victims of HIV to what many folks taking the opportunity today’s anti-vaxxers are dealing to criticize Prager and the gross with — he actually suggested that inaccuracies of his statement. One user summed up the way many what anti-vaxxers are now facing is were feeling: “When AIDS sufferers much worse. Prager made the inflammatory were thought to be able to spread AIDS statements during a discussion on the by simply breathing on or touching arch-conservative channel Newsmax. others, they WERE treated like pariahs
M
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... ironically, most viciously by the same folks who now defend those who ACTUALLY CAN spread their disease by simply breathing on others.” Others pointed out how Prager is surely old enough to remember how people living with HIV were truly treated at the time and called him out for using the manipulative tactic. “Jerk was in his 30s in the ’80s old enough to know, understand & remember what was going on. I was in my early teens and I remember the fear of AIDS & the comments of ‘it is killing the right people’ so who cares about them. He’s either still in a COVID brain fog or he’s lying,” wrote another Twitter user. Many others who lived through the initial epidemic remembered people like Ryan White, a child who became HIV-positive from a blood transfusion and had to battle in court for his right to return to school, or Princess Diana, who fought stigma by visiting and shaking hands with patients in the AIDS ward of a hospital in the 1980s. “Mr Prager, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Ryan White,” yet another user tweeted. “A young man completely ostracized and banned from ever returning to school. Why? Because he contracted AIDS due to a blood transfusion. People were scared to even go near him. It’s not nearly as inconceivable as you think.”
MICHAEL B ROCHSTEIN/G E T T Y IMAG ES
Dennis Prager, conservative radio talk show host and writer
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EQUALITY FOR HEALTH
New York City officially declares racism a public health crisis — but can it really help people of color live safer, healthier lives? The New York City Board of Health recently joined the growing list of local and national organizations that have declared racism a public health crisis. This movement is supported by the American Public Health Association (APHA.org), which keeps a tally of such declarations on its website, as well as an in-depth analysis of the strategy’s effectiveness and progress. In NYC’s declaration, guidelines were issued to implement a more “racially just” recovery from the pandemic, according to of undiagnosed HIV cases in the U.S. NBC News. today occur in the South, despite the fact that the region only represents 38 percent “To build a healthier New York City, we of the nation’s population. must confront racism as a public health crisis,” said Dr. David A. Chokshi, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the board’s chair, in a statement. “The CovidThe lifetime risk of getting an HIV diagnosis 19 pandemic magnified inequalities, among Black women across the U.S., compared to 1 in 880 for white women. leading to suffering disproportionally borne by communities of color in our city Source: Southern AIDS Coalition, U.S. Census and across the nation.” The harsh reality of these disparities was reinforced by a study released earlier this month by researchers with the National Cancer Institute. It concluded that COVID-19 killed a disproportionate number of Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans in 2020 and intensified health disparities among these groups.
52%
J U LIAN LESHAY/SH UT TERSTOCK
1 in 48
In April of this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared racism a “serious threat” to national public health — making it the largest U.S.-based health agency to single out racism as a national health crisis in disproportionate mortality rates. T he b oa rd a lso gave it s recommendations to the health department, including examining in-place policies that may be contributing to systemic racism and forming groups to provide a checks-and-balances approach to maintaining equality in policies. APHA reported that since 2019, over 70 cities, three dozen counties, and three states have declared racism a public health crisis. In terms of people of color living with HIV, activists are hopeful that these declarations could end up having a positive impact on access to testing, prevention methods like PrEP, treatment, and other crucial needs.— D G
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d a i ly d o s e
by ashle y innes
Why do I bring these challenges up? Because all these things exist around us and are a part of what impedes our OUR RESILIENCE HAS GUIDED US THROUGH progress and continues SLAVERY, JIM CROW, AND HIV. to fuel HIV. Systemic oppression is part of the foundation of America and HIV is just a D E A R B L ACK P EO P LE , How are you? As always, I hope you are symptom of that. HIV is more than a health thriving and prosperous. I am writing this issue, it is a social justice issue and it thrives in letter to remind you of your brilliance. I racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism. constantly stand in awe of your light, and When we don’t address these challenges, we in gratitude for your existence. I love and don’t address HIV. When we allow injustice, appreciate you, and your happiness and we allow HIV. When we ignore inequities in health care, we ignore HIV. And when we don’t success mean the world to me. Here we are approaching February, a time show up for all Black people, we can’t show up where we acknowledge the accomplishments to end HIV. Socia l injustice and div ision w ill of Black people in America. Amid this time, I also never forget that our history and consistently attempt to impede our progress excellence cannot be contained to a single as a community and leave us stifled. But month. From the moment our ancestors remember, slavery attempted to impede our were stolen from their homes, and the first progress, and we are still here. Jim Crow ships arrived on this land, we literally have attempted to impede our progress, and we contributed to every aspect of American are still here. Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has life. That is important because we live in attempted to impede our progress, and we are world that never intended for us to succeed still here. HIV continues to attempt to impede and often denies our accomplishments and our progress, and we are still here. No matter contributions. Yet here we are, continuing the obstacle, Black people always overcome. Resiliency is in our DNA. There was no choice to progress. Februar y is also the time that we for it not to be. And even that is an injustice, acknowledge the impact that HIV has on right? Black folks shouldn’t have to be resilient Black communities. February 7 is National all the time, yet still, here we are. Black people I love you. I love your Black HIV Awareness Day. As the name states, it is an opportunity to raise awareness, brilliance, your confidence, your culture, take action, and reflect on our progress. And your swag. I love the way you work; I love the that begs the question, what does progress way you play. I love the way you celebrate. I love the way you mourn. When one of us look like for Black people? In 2020, the world watched the horrors of triumphs, we all feel the joy. When one of us injustice with multiple unarmed Black people struggles, we all feel the pain. It’s a collective being killed by police. As a result, individuals experience that cannot be denied. As a community we educate, advocate, and businesses committed to do better. There was more awareness and conversations being organize, and collaborate. We recognize had about systemic racism than I have ever the strength in our unity. And we must use seen. There was even a conviction for George that to eliminate stigma around Blackness, queerness, and HIV. Be bold and proud of Floyd’s murder. On the other side of that, there has been who you are; it can change your life and a recent strong resistance to white children those around you. Black people, we will having to learn the history of racism, keep fighting, we will keep rising, we will yet not nearly enough resistance around keep overcoming. You are luminous, you Black children experiencing it. Health are powerful, you are a gift. Don’t ever stop disparities continue to allow COVID-19 to believing that. disproportionately impact Black communities. And in 2021, we’ve seen the most murders of Love, Ashley Black trans people in recorded history. 14
ASHLEY INNES is a writer and HIV advocate. Follow her on Twitter @Ash_Innes.
COU RTESY (IN N ES); U RIEL MONT/PE XELS (COU PLE )
A LOVE LETTER TO BLACK PEOPLE ON NATIONAL BLACK HIV AWARENESS DAY
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IN GENTRIFYING ATLANTA, ADVOCATES SAY A FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT HELPS PEOPLE WITH HIV FIND AFFORDABLE HOMES IS FAILING. BY JIM FARMER H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham attends an antidiscrimination rally at the state capitol
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voters decided in late November that city council member Andre Dickens will be their next mayor. Dickens will have a lot on his plate, including ongoing issues with the city’s HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS) program. Managing and disbursing HOPWA funds has become a thorn in the city of Atlanta’s side over the years, and a resolution to the problem still seems distant. Providing subsidies for housing and related services for low-income people with HIV, HOPWA — a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development— serves 29 metro Atlanta counties and works with approximately 20 organizations there. The city of Atlanta, through HOPWA funding, reimburses participating organizations after they cover fees for their clients. Jeff Graham, executive director of the advocacy group Georgia Equality, calls it a vital program. “Housing is a critical need for people living with HIV [and] AIDS,” he says. “The role stable housing provides in setting an environment where people can be successful living a long full life with an HIV diagnosis is oftentimes overlooked.” Atlanta has one of the highest rates of new HIV infections among U.S. cities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HOPWA currently serves more than 1,800 individuals in Georgia, but problems with the program in Atlanta have been persistent over the years and have become more high-profile during the administration of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was elected in 2017 and did not seek reelection last year. Many participating organizations have complained about the time it takes to get reimbursed. Living Room, an Atlanta-based organization that received HOPWA funding, sued the city in 2019, saying it had wrongfully withheld payments. Later that year Living Room declared bankruptcy with more than $1 million in debt and shut down. Daniel Driffin, who was deputy executive director of Living Room at the time, says the situation put many in the program on the brink of eviction. W hen HUD investigated the situation in 2019, it found mismanagement in the program. The city vowed to restructure. This September, though, the board of Positive Impact Health Centers — which also provides housing for people with HIV in Atlanta — voted to end its 28-year relationship with the city and threatened legal action. “As a nonprofit AIDS Service Organization that serves over 20 counties, Positive Impact Health Centers, Inc. spent out-ofpocket approximately $1,302,307.81 to provide housing services for individuals living with HIV from January to September 2021,” Positive Impact CEO and President Larry Lehman said in a press release at the time. “Although the City of Atlanta currently has more than $70 million in federal HOPWA dollars sitting in their account, as a pass-through entity, the City of Atlanta has failed to timely process reimbursement requests for PIHC and other nonprofit organizations preventing desperately needed funds for housing services from getting into the community.” Lehman has since said the city is more current with its payments and is working with his group on a transition plan. The city of Atlanta sees HOPWA matters differently. Addressing
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Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms dealt with much community pressure and criticism throughout her tenure in regards to Atlanta’s HIV housing crisis
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the long-standing issues with HOPWA has remained a priority for the Bottoms administration, says spokesman Michael Smith. He adds that the mayor created the Department of Grants and Community Development as well as other measures to improve the services provided, and that project sponsors are receiving their reimbursements in a more timely manner under her administration. The city will continue to work with current project sponsors and community partners to place all of Positive Impact’s HOPWA clients in housing and ensure that supportive services are not interrupted, Smith says. “The City has worked diligently with Positive Impact over the years and DGCD has provided dozens of hours of technical assistance to [its] staff on how to properly substantiate monthly expenditures, while also making more than a million dollars in pre-payments to Positive Impact to assist the agency,” Smith said in an email. Graham of Georgia Equality is encouraged by the incoming mayor’s commitment to HOPWA. Dickens has acknowledged problems with the program and vowed to try to fix it. For now, the situation remains a complicated, divisive one. No one can pinpoint exactly why delays in reimbursements persist. Graham agrees problems with HOPWA have been ongoing and says there are structural issues in the city’s grantmaking and procurement processes. “Because it is a complex issue, there has been a lack of political will to focus in on it,” he says. “I honestly believe there is a bias against people living with HIV [and] AIDS, that they are not as important a constituency in reality as people talk about in their words.” “What really matters is that the program is incredibly broken and people who are vulnerable are suffering as a result of it,” he continues. “All we are seeing now from city leadership is fingerpointing and denial.” William Ramirez, an Ending the Epidemic fellow with Georgia Equality, focuses on HIV housing equity and has been closely following the situation. He’s also worked to establish relationships with providers to build a coalition. He fears that other organizations besides Positive Impact might eventually end their HOPWA agreements with the city. Driffin, formerly of Living Room, shares Ramirez’s concerns but says the city is attempting to improve the situation. However, it’s a bit too early to tell if it’s working. He holds out hope that all those needing assistance will still be able to get it. “Even from the time I was with Living Room, there were fewer and fewer options for individuals on government programs to secure habitable and safe housing,” he says. “We are getting such an influx of people moving into Atlanta that have a higher income. Landlords and organizations that own housing complexes can just lease to those people. I really don’t want to see people who rely on HOPWA funding get pushed out of the city limits.”
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Author and advocate TONI NEWMAN discusses her journey from working as an escort to heading one of the country’s largest organization focusing on HIV in the Black community. And there ain’t no shame in her game. BY DESIRÉE GUERRERO, WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NEAL BROVERMAN
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the chair of the board of directors at TransCanWork, which assists with employment opportunities for the transgender community. Before her work at Lyric, Newman was executive director of San Francisco’s St. James Infirmary clinic, which provides services to sex workers, one of the few organizations in the nation to do so. In addition, Newman was a fundraiser and legislative aide for Equality California, the state’s LGBTQ+ organization. We recently chatted with Newman about her new role at BAI and her thoughts on being a Black trans female leader within the nonprofit realm. “I’ve been in this journey as a trans woman of color for 26 years, since 14th Street in Manhattan, when the epidemic was at its heated core,” recalls Newman. “And all of those young ladies are passed on…so it touches me to be able to work with the Black AIDS Institute, a national think tank fighting for Black and brown folks [affected by] HIV. I would love to focus on Black women and trans women of color…. Those [HIV] numbers are climbing, those numbers are concerning. So as a trans woman and as a [Black] woman, I would love to focus on that.” “I was touched by HIV 26 years ago and then I became an HIV test coordinator,” she continues. “I’ve been in the
Toni Newman (left) chats with a colleague while working as executive director at St. James Infirmary in San Francisco
LE A SUZU KI/G E T T Y IMAG ES
fter changes in its leadership roles last year, the Black AIDS Institute reached out to Toni Newman, an author and advocate for sex workers and people living with HIV, to lead the 23-yearold organization. At least temporarily, anyway. T he L o s A n gele s based nonprofit focuses on HIV education, prevention, and treatment among African-Americans, a group disproportionately affected by HIV. BAI has nearly 40 employees and a $5 million annual budget. Her new role as BAI’s interim CEO makes Newman one of very few Black trans people heading a national nonprofit. She also recently served as an interim CEO for San Franciscobased LGBTQ+ youth organization Lyric. Newman is a distinguished faculty member at the Transgender Strategy Center in Los Angeles and JAN UARY / FEB RUARY 202 2
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I’ve been in this journey as a trans woman of color for 26 years...when the epidemic was at its heated core. van [saying to people], ‘Welcome, let’s get you tested.’ And I’ve given bad news to people, I’ve given good news to people…. I know what that looks like as a frontline staff member, all the way to the manager and director. So I’ve had my hands on the pulse of HIV for about 26 years. And it’s just amazing to be here.” Newman has also been a vocal advocate for decriminalizing and destigmatizing sex work, and even detailed her own experiences as an escort in her 2011 memoir, I Rise: The Transformation of Toni Newman. She remembers a specific incident when, after a meeting in Washington, D.C., a man came up to her saying he’d heard a rumor that she was a former escort and assumed it was a ridiculous lie since she was a CEO, after all. She remembers replying, “How do you think I got here? No pun intended, by serving very intelligent men like yourself, who enjoyed whatever they enjoyed — so whoever whispered to you at that table, in fact, told you the truth. And I have a book you can read to entertain the whole story!” Newman worked as a professional mistress for 10 years, alongside another female mistress and male master. They were known as the Erotic Professionals and had a roster of wealthy and celebrity clients. With business partner Alton Willoughby, Newman wrote a screenplay about the trio’s escapades. The screenplay resulted in the short film Heart of a Woman, made in 2016 and starring two talented trans women of color, Angelica Ross (Pose, American Horror Story) and Isis King (America’s Next Top Model, When They See Us). Now Newman is excited to be in the process of making the story into a full-length feature film. “I’m excited because I really was loving the short film,” she says. Another pivotal moment in Newman’s storied life happened back in 2012, when she had the opportunity to meet and interview the late, great Black female writer, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and source of eternal wisdom, Dr. Maya Angelou. Angelou and Newman both had connections to Wake Forest University, a prestigious North Carolina school.
“Maya Angelou came to Wake Forest in 1982 as a professor, and I came to Wake Forest in 1981 as a freshman,” says Newman, explaining why she named her memoir after one of Angelou’s most famous poems, “Still I Rise.” Newman continues, “So I got to hear her poems and her speaking when I was at Wake at different events — and that poem, ‘I Rise….’ I felt that I was under the feet of a lot of folk who felt that they could just take charge and treat me any kind of way when I was at the bottom, the very bottom, so she was very instrumental [to me changing that attitude].” Newman says Angelou was “very gracious, and we talked about equality for all genders…and just how people should live their authentic lives. She said, ‘Happiness comes from within, and let no one tell you how to be happy. Your life is yours to do as you will, as God made you. So live it…. Just be.’” Newman says those words made a huge impact on her, and she carries those messages with her to this day. She also admits that being a visible Black trans leader in what is still a primarily white heteronormative world has its challenges, but she says integrity and perseverance can take you far. “I learned early on to listen,” says Newman. “Of course, I went into this work and my bosses were gay white men with power. I was frontline, no power. I learned from them. And I listened to them. It’s how I’ve maneuvered my career from an HIV test coordinator to director of development to CEO. I’m a good listener. And I know when to take the good advice from the bad advice on how to succeed. I started my journey under a gay white man.... And I learned quite a bit from him. Some of the habits I did not take, because he was a white privileged man of power, and I was not in that category of power — but I knew the only way to help was to be at the table.” “I had to just knuckle down and say, ‘Let me show you, I won’t say much. I’ll just do the job.’ And that’s been my approach,” Newman concludes. “Give me the chance. And I’ll show you rather than talk…. That’s how I maneuver when I go into interviews — I just need the chance. My résumé speaks for itself, but I need the opportunity…. And it has worked out quite well.” H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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VICTOR GARBER has starred in everything from Hello, Dolly! to Titanic. As he makes history with a role on The Simpsons, the gay actor reflects on his career and living and loving through the AIDS crisis.
MIKE PONT/G E T T Y IMAG ES
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In the early ’80s, as the AIDS crisis was beginning to unfold in New York City, Victor Garber was starring on Broadway in the original cast of Noises Off when his best friend, a fellow actor, learned that he was living with HIV. “He lived in my apartment and died in my apartment,” Garber says. The theater community in New York provided a home for Garber during these years, a safety and care he still feels to this day. Despite breaking into Hollywood with the 1973 movie musical Godspell, and going on to star in some of the most beloved movies of all time, including Titanic, Legally Blonde, Milk, and The First Wives Club, Garber has continued to return to the stage, originating roles in shows like Sweeney Todd, Assassins, Lend Me a Tenor, and Art. On a recent episode of the LGBTQ&A podcast (produced by Plus’s parent company), Garber talked about being a “Sondheim fanatic,” why he doesn’t want to act in any more musicals, and making his debut on The Simpsons late last year — Garber voiced the role of fashion mogul Michael De Graaf, the first onscreen love interest of Mr. Smithers. (Listen to Garber’s full interview on Apple Podcasts.) H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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LEFT Fingers point at the face of Victor Garber in a scene from the musical Godspell, 1973 BELOW Garber at the 1989 Tony Award nominations OPPOSITE With his husband, Rainer Andreesen, in 2016
I think an exception is the Liberace TV movie, Liberace: Behind the Music. Yes. Yes. You’re right. That was 1988. It’s one of the few times you’ve been able to play gay. You’ve said that negatively impacted your career. Well, it’s more of a supposition than a fact. I think a very top agent in New York, who I had lunch with in those early years, said, “You really can’t be a successful leading man if you’re gay.” I thought about that and I thought, I’m not going to pretend that I’m not gay. I never really talked about it anyway. I was never one of those people. I didn’t think it mattered and I didn’t think it was important. I can’t say this for certain but I think I was not on certain lists for that reason. You were working consistently on Broadway during the early years of the AIDS crisis. I never thought I would be able to get through it. It was the worst experience. The pandemic now is a close second but different in a way, in a big way. I remember thinking life will never be the same and it never was. But it took years to come out from the cloud and the horror of that time. 28
COLU M B IA PICTU RES/G E T T Y IMAG ES (GODSPELL); RON GALELL A COLLEC TION/G E T T Y IMAG ES
When people hear your name or see your face, the response I usually hear is, “He’s in everything.” Do you feel that way about your own career? No. I hear that all the time and I think, Well, I’m not in everything. There’s a lot I’m not in and I would like to do more. I’ve never done anything in film that comes close to what I’ve been able to do onstage, in terms of the opportunities to act onstage. Here’s the thing, I’m in my 70s now and there are so many things that I feel that I haven’t had the opportunity to do that I want to do. It’s not a big deal. I feel like I’m one of the most fortunate people I know. I’m grateful for everything I’ve done in movies, but I’ve never had a true, true leading role other than Godspell.
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Did it feel like your career was separate from that part of your life, dealing with friends who were living with HIV, or did it all bleed into each other? The first person I knew really well who got AIDS was my best friend, who was my understudy on the road of They’re Playing Our Song. We ended up moving in together in New York. He had been married and divorced for a number of years and was gay. He contracted AIDS and he lived in my apartment and died in my apartment. I was doing Noises Off, I think, at the time, which was the most egregious comedy I’ve ever been in. So I was on the stage and hearing these gales of laughter and then coming home at night and then doing sign-up sheets for people to come look after him when I wasn’t there to help. So it was all of a piece. I don’t remember dates or years but I do remember the feelings I had. I do remember that everybody in my world was a part of this crisis and everybody was doing the best they could to fight it and to find out how to cure it. We were all very involved, some more than others. But I was acting through that, yes. How aware were you of the activism that was occurring? I got more aware of it. I’m talking about in the early years before ACT UP. I felt unequal to the task. I didn’t know how to be a part of that, whether I was just too frightened of it. I’ve never been, I guess, a radical. I have strong beliefs and I do what I can. I’m not proud of this. This is just my nature and who I am. I’m not an activist in that way. I was just doing my life and looking after people who were dying. There are many times I wished I could have done more than I was doing and I do today even with the climate crisis and with poverty. I do a lot of PSAs. I do donate money to causes and I do what I can do, but then I have to balance that with my life or I get overwhelmed. Did the other cast members in Noises Off know what you were also dealing with? Yes. It was very early and so it was still a lot unknown
about it. But, yes. I guess, what saved me was being a part of that community. I felt so safe there and so safe with these people and I felt so cared about. For me, that’s been the theater my whole life. Art was one of the most exceptional experiences for me on stage that I’ve ever had because of my relationship with Alan Alda, and Fred Molina, and the director, Matthew Warchus. It’s kind of like my resting place is the theater. I feel at home in the theater. What was it like to join The Simpsons? I was stunned that I was called to be on The Simpsons because I don’t know anybody really involved or didn’t know anybody well. I was so happy to do it, but I didn’t really know what it was going to be like and it turned out to be a great experience, I’m happy to say. It’s kind of like an institution. It’s an iconic show. I saw for the first time the animation and I couldn’t believe how thrilling that was. The Simpsons is voice acting. You’ve said you don’t love the sound of your singing voice anymore, but do you feel the same way about your speaking voice? No. No. I don’t think about my speaking voice, except when I’m not able to control what I feel I need to control. But that’s because I don’t exercise enough with it. You need to keep your voice in shape. But, no. I don’t listen to things I do. I don’t really often watch the things I do because I’m tough on myself. H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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DE SPITE NOW BEING AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED DR AG PERFORMER , TRI N IT Y K . BON ET IS S TILL A WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE.
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BY D E S I R É E G U E R R E R O
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have been a handf ul of drag performances over the years that have become the stuff of legend. Among them, there is the 2001 Miss Black Gay America pageant performance by drag icon Tandi Iman Dupree, who drops from the ceiling into a split dressed as Wonder Woman. Then there’s Dida Ritz’s spectacular lip sync to “This Will Be (an Everlasting Love)” on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 4 — in front of the song’s originator, no less, Natalie Cole (who was a guest judge before she passed on). A nd now we add to the list Trinity K. Bonet’s dynamic, divalicious Beyoncé-inspired “half-time” performance on the most recent season of Drag Race All Stars. Not only did Bonet beautifully embody the essence of the Queen Bee herself — and no shade to Mrs. Carter— she just may have out-danced her. But then again, the two talented performers seem to have a few things in common. For example, beneath both of their larger-thanlife stage personas (Beyoncé’s famously nicknamed “Sasha Fierce”) resides much more low-key, almost introverted, personalities. Fans of the Drag Race franchise have gotten to know this sweeter, more sensitive side of Ms. Bonet, who out of drag is Joshua Jamal Jones — a quietly charming and handsome gay man from Atlanta (who, like most queens, uses she/her pronouns for his drag persona). However, this hasn’t ever stopped the refreshingly honest queen from speaking up about topics she’s passionate about, including social justice, mental health, and living with HIV. Bonet started drag at a very young age and credits her mother, who is a lesbian, for allowing their home to be a safe place to experiment with gender and identity. She spent her younger years in Miami, where Bonet JAN UARY / FEB RUARY 202 2
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says she’d get all dolled up and try to sneak her way into clubs and pageants. “My first pageant, I was 14 — the Closet Ball. There was like 9 people, I was dead last. But I was there,” she recalls with a laugh. “And I shouldn’t have been, but whatever.” Bonet explains that because of her mom’s involvement with the local LGBTQ+ community, she was exposed to the art of drag and female impersonation early on. “I grew up around a lot of different artists and entertainers and just became a sponge,” says Bonet. “At an early age I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Then when I moved to Atlanta…I kind of dropped out of school at that point and nobody knew me up here, so it was easy to get in clubs, perform and shit, and you know, keep under the radar. And that helped me get my start.” Over the next decade Bonet honed her drag skills by performing in nightclubs and working the pageant system, which is evidenced by her poise and elegance onstage. By her early 20s, Bonet was no longer placing last in pageants. Instead she was winning them — and catching the attention of Drag Race producers. Bonet’s first appearance on the drag competition series was on its sixth season in 2014, when she made a lasting impression with her stunning runway looks and stellar performances. She also made herstory by becoming the second queen and one of very few public figures at the time to disclose she was living with HIV. (Season 1 contestant Ongina opened up about living with HIV on the main stage in 2009.) When Bonet returned to the franchise last year for All Stars season 6, she killed it — this time making it all the way to the top 5 and solidifying herself as a legendary drag icon. “Hell, I mean at the time it kind of just felt like vacation,” Bonet admits of returning for All Stars. “It was in the middle of the pandemic, so just getting out of the house, traveling…you know, I took the best out of the situation and allowed myself to enjoy my time there…. It really was just about taking the best things out of this opportunity and running with it, and hoping for the best.” “That’s really the journey this time around,” she adds, “just being able to reach new people on a bigger platform and hope that your story makes sense.” In a particular challenge, the queens were placed into groups to produce segments of “Pink Table Talk,” a chat show modeled off Jada Pinkett Smith’s popular Facebook series, Red Table Talk. Bonet used the opportunity to educate viewers about the concept of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U), the scientific consensus that means if your viral load is undetectable, you cannot pass HIV to a sexual partner. “The thing about me when it comes to sex, is in my particular community, it’s very taboo when it comes to being open and honest about their status,” said Bonet during the segment. “Being a person who is openly HIVpositive, for a long time I was a lot of secrets for a lot of H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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people. But I’m nobody’s secret. I’m successful, I got my shit together, I’m good in bed. I’m taking care of myself. I’m undetectable, which is untransmittable…. There’s a lot of people out here who are not educated that you can be with someone who is HIV-positive if they are undetectable and not catch the virus.” Born somewhat out of frustration from not being able to participate in person, Bonet also chose to use the powerful platform to support the Black Lives Matter movement. “I think for me, during the time we were filming [there was] a lot of protesting and rioting and I knew I couldn’t be involved. So it was kind of like my little way of walking with the people,” she says. “That was a great place to picket…to speak up, to be seen. A lot of people watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. And even for those people who decided not to leave their home, you know, we’re bringing it back to your home. Even when you thought we were finished — we ain’t finished.” These days Bonet is recuperating from an exciting but exhausting whirlwind U.K. tour and preparing for her next big gig: a six-month Drag Race Live residency in Vegas. On her ever-rising star-power, Bonet remains characteristically humble. Though she’s continued to gain legions of new fans she says, “I’ve always felt like you don’t need to have a million followers...[if] the right people are paying attention to you and want to take the time to find out what’s going on in your life.” 38
RODIN ECKEN ROTH/G E T T Y IMAG ES
Bonet started drag at a very young age and credits her mother, who is a lesbian, for allowing their home to be a safe place to experiment with gender and identity.
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wellness
WHEN ANGER BECOMES ABUSE
DOES YOUR PARTNER’S IRRITABILITY GO TO A DARK PLACE? HERE’S HOW TO RECOGNIZE ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR AND TAKE STEPS TOWARD EMPOWERING YOURSELF. BY GA RY M CC L A I N TA R A A N D T O N Y have been
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hope you will stop making excuses for him and take care of yourself.” So a question: When does anger turn into abuse? To answer this question, let’s start by defining the different kinds of abuse. It’s not all about bruises. As Jane said to Tara, abuse can be emotional, with accusations, humiliation, and criticism. Abuse can be physical, a shove or a slap, or throwing something. Abuse can also be financial, as when money is withheld, spending is overly controlled or, on the other hand, excessive debt is incurred. Abuse can also be sexual, forcing sex, withholding sex. So how do you know that you, or someone else, is being abused? Here are a few of the signs: • Being made to feel bad about yourself, criticized or ridiculed • Making excuses for the person doing the abuse, e.g. “this is the first time it happened” or “they’re just frustrated.” • “Walking on eggshells” with your partner to avoid angry outbursts • Hiding bruises or other signs of injury • Making elaborate explanations to avoid accusations or jealousy • Being expected to apologize for something you have not done or have no control over, like when you’re not feeling well or have a bad day If you feel that you are being abused, here are some of the things you can do: Sit down and have a talk with the person who is abusing you. Give them specific examples of when you felt you were being abused. Let them know how this makes you feel and why you view this behavior as abusive. Make it clear that abusive behavior is not acceptable. And ask them to change their behavior.
Mental health editor, GARY MCCLAIN, PH.D., is a therapist, patient advocate, and author in New York. He specializes in working with those diagnosed with chronic and catastrophic medical conditions. (JustGotDiagnosed.com)
AN E TE LUSINA /PE XELS (COU PLE ); MA XIMILIAN IMAG ING (MCCL AIN)
married for over ten years, and they have had some ups and downs in their relationship along the way. When Tony gets angry, Tara reminds herself that it’s not easy for him. She has been living with HIV throughout their marriage, and Tara often feels lucky that Tony was willing to go ahead with marrying her, knowing about her diagnosis. You know, that feeling that your HIV status makes you damaged goods. In fact, truth be told, Tony has been known to remind Tara that she’s lucky when he’s angry at her about something. Last week, Tony became especially angry at Tara when she asked him to take charge of getting their two children ready for bed. “Are you kidding?” Tony had asked. “After having to work overtime today?” Tara tried to apologize for making this request, but Tony wouldn’t listen. “An excuse to be lazy,” he yelled. To make his point, he threw a bottle of water at her, hitting her in the arm. The next day, Tara’s sister, Jane stopped by unexpectedly. Tara forgot to put on a sweater before she opened the door, and Jane noticed right away that she had a bruise on her arm. After pressuring Tara to tell her what happened, Tara filled her in. “He was just frustrated. And it was my fault,” Tara insisted. “I should have pushed myself harder to handle my chores. By the way, this is the first time he has ever gotten physical with me.” “Tara,” Jane said, “This is not just anger. Tony has abused you emotionally and now physically. I JAN UARY / FEB RUARY 202 2
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(Keep in mind that we can’t force other people to change, and the abusive person may or may not respond.)
you can bring your partner along with you, and get some couples counseling, so much the better.
Stop making excuses. Abusive behavior is abusive behavior. You didn’t cause it. And there is no valid reason for one person to abuse another. Your HIV status — regardless of the impact it may have on your partner — is definitely no reason for you to be abused. When you stop making excuses for abusive behavior, you empower yourself to take further action if needed. You are a person, not a punching bag. Get emotional support. Gather your support network around you. Family members and friends who can provide a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, and the encouragement you aren’t getting from your partner. The people who care about you want the best for you, but that support may come with some tough love, so be prepared.
Caution: Abusive behavior can escalate over time. As you saw in Tara’s situation, Tony’s emotional outbursts had not previously been physical. And then they were. Once that boundary into physical abuse has been crossed, it can increase in frequency and intensity over time. Another reason not to make excuses for an abusive partner and to take care of yourself. If you are in physical danger, do some research online on how to create a safety plan for yourself. Get familiar with resources in your own community for victims of abuse. Also check out the National Domestic Violence Hotline (TheHotline.org) as well as The Network/La Red (TNLR.org), which is a social justice organization focused on domestic violence in the LGBTQ+ community. And don’t hesitant to dial 911 if you are in immediate danger.
Get professional support. If you are in an abusive relationship, I highly recommend that you sit down and talk things out with a counselor. A mental health professional can provide an objective perspective on the situation, and also help you to develop some coping skills, as well as to develop a safety plan to protect yourself. By the way, if
Remember: Any kind of abusive behavior, verbal or physical, can take a toll on your health and well-being. So as the saying goes, if you see something, say something. Call it out for what it is. And take good care of yourself. You deserve to be treated with kindness and respect by your partner, so seize your power!
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX MY HEALTH AGENDA PROVIDES A SAFE SPACE FOR LGBTQ+ LATINX FOLKS TO DISCUSS SEX, HEALTH, AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
C ARLOS MARÍN
BY D E S I R É E G U E R R E R O
ACCORDING TO THE Department of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Latinx people accounted for almost 30 percent of all HIV transmissions in 2019, and Latinx men are four times as likely to contract HIV than white men. It’s these types of statistics and other disparities that inspired the creation of a new health and wellness web series from Latino Alternative TV (LATV.com). My Health Agenda aims to provide a much-needed safe space for LGBTQ+ Latinx people to talk about sexual health, mental health, and any other issues unique to this diverse community. “My Health Agenda represents what we do best at LATV,” says Andres Palencia, creator and director of the series. “We empowered incredibly
talented creators from our community to bring a unique series to life that gives visibility and representation to members of our community who make us proud in a way that is genuine, creative, and original.” The premiere episode features Erick Velasco from The Homo Homie podcast, who opens up about being raised in a traditional Latinx family as a gay man, and how he learned to accept his HIV-positive diagnosis and finally love himself. Episode 2 introduces recovery advocate and trans woman Jennifer Rodriguez, who discusses her struggles in surviving addiction, sex work, and an HIV diagnosis — and how she eventually became an inspiring asset to her community. In the third episode, social media influencer Curly
Velasquez chats about everything from body image to cultural expectations to substance abuse, and episode 4 features HIV activist Vasilios Papapitsios, who shares his journey of growing up Latinx and queer in the South. The fifth and final installment of the series (though there may be more in the future) introduces Dr. Ariel Ourian, a prominent plastic surgeon with vast experience helping queer and trans members of the Latinx community. Check it out to hear Dr. Ourian’s candid conversation with the first four guests, with a focus on dispelling some of the myths, stigmas, and fears around health that the Latinx LGBTQ+ community might experience. All episodes of My Health Agenda will have a permanent home on LATV, which is a free media service. “As Latinos, it can be difficult to br ing up hea lth-related conversations for a number of reasons,” adds Palencia. “We decided to create this series as a loving and creative ‘ice breaker’ of sorts so we can normalize healthrelated conversations for LGBTQ+ people — especially Latinos.” H IVPLUS MAG .CO M
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the lack of re-educating! There are far too many false narratives still SAVION ASHFORD OF THE HOUSE OF GARCON IS MAKING being taught and, in THE MOST OUT OF A MEMORABLE TV APPEARANCE. large part, the blame is lack of resources in rural areas that are hit much harder than more populated S E L F - P R O C L A I M E D “ B U T C H E S T of all queens,” dancer and performer Savion Ashford, a.k.a. Savion Garcon areas. We can also closely examine the culture in the of the House of Garcon, shined on HBO Max’s Legendary. In rural conservative South that still doesn’t stand behind our LGBTQIA+ community in the capacity necessary to 2020, Ashford made it onto the second season of the ballroom competition show along with his fellow house members. The end youth homelessness, bullying, and suicides in our team ended up the underdogs of the season, making it to subculture. Even to people I closely know and even some the semi-finals. Ashford made news again the following year I call family, it would’ve been better for me to become a convicted felon than to live publicly as a Black gay man when he spoke out about living with HIV, exactly 14 years after first being diagnosed. Ashford, a barber and makeup with HIV.
Tell us about why you wanted to come out about your status now. After 14 years of living with HIV and taking the time to unlearn what society had taught me and ridding myself of the toxic hysteria that surrounds not just being diagnosed, but labeled with having this virus, I felt it was time I shared my journey with others like me. I’ve come across so many people along my journey I felt I could’ve been of better value to and hope to be now. But ultimately, I needed to do it because I owed myself this amount of courage and transparency for what I hope to accomplish, not just in my lifetime but as a legacy I someday hope to leave behind.
What is the relationship between the ballroom scene and HIV? Ballroom was built on the oppressive nature of society. Many nonprofit organizations and support systems actually center and exist around [and] in ballroom. They exist due to the need of erasing the stigma that surrounds ballroom, sex work, health, mental health, and economic status, and many of those organizations offer help, care, and guidance. Where no one accepts us in society — or due to the hardships of what we call life — we are made into stars, statements, legends, and icons in ballroom. If it had not been for ballroom, I would’ve never gained the courage to get to this point in my life.
What reaction did you receive after talking about living with HIV? Before making my status public, I told a friend I thought it was time and he expressed how much it would help others, but I didn’t understand just how much [it would]. Once “it” was out, I received an overwhelming amount of positive support and love extending from family and friends as well as complete strangers. From people that were newly diagnosed and needed direction to receive care to people who’d been affected much longer than I have. However, I didn’t know how much any of it meant to me until my mom called, and before saying hello, said “Savion, my child, I am proud of you and happy for you.”
What was it like competing on a TV show like Legendary? I hate to sound cliché but being on TV and filming season 2 of Legendary changed my life.It was important for me to show the world what a butch queen is and to represent ballroom and my talent in a way that would make my community proud. I’ve never been pushed physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to a place of awakening to what I am capable of achieving — and for that I’m grateful! Being around so many beautiful and talented people from my community motivated me to live and thrive in transparency without fear of rejection or acceptance. Two of my favorite people, Nicco Annan and Taraji P. Henson, were guest judges on the show and their messages were nearly identical in expressing, “You are enough.”
You're from North Carolina and now live in Atlanta. Why do you think the South suffers from disproportionately high HIV numbers? Being a North Carolinian, I’ve been able to see firsthand how damaged our communities are due to miseducation and
What’s next for you? I’m still figuring out what’s next, but I do know I hope to work with various nonprofit organizations to educate, advocate, and represent the LGBTQIA+ population and, through doing so, save lives as mine was.
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artist in Atlanta, said on Twitter that he’s “living happily and healthy with HIV,” and recently spoke to Plus about his announcement, the ball scene, and what’s next.
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by n e al b rove r man
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WALL-VERSED
A NEW BOOK EXPLORES THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HIV POSTERS. Ranging from sex-positive to shocking, the arresting images included in Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster take us back to another time — when HIV was a deadly virus and health organizations were desperate to get prevention messaging out to those most at risk. By today’s standards, many of the older posters’ imagery and text may seem outdated, or even stigmatizing, but in many ways they also show how far we’ve come. “As a gay man living in New York City at that time, I lost many close friends and colleagues,” recalls co-editor Donald Albrecht. “Working on this poster project has been a bittersweet experience…. I and my colleagues could not help but see the long shadow cast by AIDS on the current pandemic, specifically regarding the negative effects of misinformation and inaction.” “Dr. [Edward C.] Atwater, the person who built this collection…saw the posters as social history, and I agree,” says Up Against the Wall’s other co-editor, Jessica Lacher44
Feldman. “The sheer number of posters is an indication of just how urgent it was, and is, to make people aware of their own responsibility in keeping themselves and others safe, and to share compassion, dispel myths, and off er hope. Younger generations need to understand, and I hope that the lens of COVID-19 will make a difference, that the AIDS pandemic remains something that we all must take responsibility for, in keeping ourselves and those we love healthy.” “Still seen on the street and subway, posters now freely circulate on websites and social media, and pop up on smartphones and mobile devices,” adds Albrect. “HIV poster-making will thus continue. HIV posters will morph in lockstep with medical advances, knowledge, and perceptions of HIV until the disease is eliminated.” An accompanying exhibiton of the same name will be on display at the Memorial Art Gallery at New York’s University of Rochester from March 6 to June 19.
U P AGAI NST TH E WALL/RIT PRESS
BY DESIRÉE GUERRERO
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OPPOSITE “Only Gay Men Get AIDS...When Are You Going to Get It?” date unknown, Atlanta, Georgia, created by AIDS Atlanta ABOVE “Can You Get AIDS From a Drinking Fountain?” 1988, Toronto, Canada, created by Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
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“Prevent AIDS. Use One,” circa 1991, Boston, Mass., created by Massachusetts Department of Public Health
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“He Didn’t Use A Condom/AIDS,” date unknown, Alfred, N.Y., created by Alfred University
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ABOVE From the “Banana Boys” series, 1983, Rochester, N.Y., created by AIDS Rochester
U P AGAI NST TH E WALL/RIT PRESS
RIGHT Up Against the Wall’s front cover
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Providing high-quality, LGBTQ-affirming healthcare - regardless of ability to pay. Proudly welcoming patients at our new Downtown Brooklyn location! To become a patient and to learn more, visit callen-lorde.org/brooklyn or call 718.215.1818 Callen-Lorde Brooklyn 40 Flatbush Ave Ext, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201
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TWO WAYS TREATMENT CAN HELP STOP HIV.
Starting HIV treatment as soon as possible and sticking with it every day helps you get to and stay undetectable. That means there is so little virus in the blood that a test can’t measure it. And that’s a good thing, because:
BEING UNDETECTABLE HELPS STOP THE DAMAGE HIV CAUSES.
CURRENT RESEARCH SHOWS GETTING TO AND STAYING UNDETECTABLE PREVENTS THE SPREAD OF HIV THROUGH SEX.
There’s no cure for HIV, but if you stick with treatment, you can protect yourself and the people you care about. Talk to a healthcare provider and watch It’s Called Treatment as Prevention at YouTube.com/HelpStopTheVirus
GILEAD and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. © 2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC7537 08/20
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