Atlanta Black Pride mixes celebration with HIV prevention
Thousands of people come to Atlanta Black Pride each Labor Day weekend for parties, performances and community.
This year, some of those same spaces are doubling as places to get tested for HIV, learn about prevention and connect with healthcare.
At a Saturday circuit party, QR codes on wristbands will direct guests to information about PrEP.
At Sunday’s Pure Heat Community Festival in Piedmont Park, attendees can get tested for HIV or request at-home testing kits.
And throughout the weekend, health professionals and activists are using Pride events to talk openly about wellness, prevention and the stigma that still surrounds HIV and AIDS.
Darwin Thompson, senior director of corporate responsibility at Gilead Sciences, calls Atlanta Black Pride both “a celebration and public health intervention.”
“Oftentimes, this might be the only time a young, Black queer person will get tested this year,” Thompson said. “This gives us an opportunity to ensure statuses are up to date and connect people to prevention options.”
The outreach comes as a recent report suggests that stigma and gaps in public understanding about HIV persist.
Last month, GLAAD released its sixth annual State of HIV Stigma Report, which examined attitudes about HIV status, advances in medicine and media representation of people living with HIV.
Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company that develops HIV prevention and treatment medications, partnered with GLAAD on the report.
Thompson said reaching people during Atlanta Black Pride reflects a broader strategy of taking health information and services directly into the communities that need them.
“It’s going to take a more than medicine approach to end the HIV epidemic, so it means meeting communities where they are,” he said.
Rashad Burgess, vice president of corporate responsibility for Gilead Sciences, said raising awareness around sexual health and new developments in medicine are collaborative efforts.
“We understand the importance and value of Black queer communities and have a real commitment around ending HIV for everyone everywhere, and to do that effectively, we have to make sure we’re working and supporting community.”
Fighting HIV stigma through education
On Friday, Gilead Sciences co-hosted a leadership forum with Native Son, a nonprofit organization supporting intergenerational connections between Black LGBTQ+ men.
The lunch and learn featured a panel with artists and health professionals discussing how they achieved and advocate for personal well-being.
“There are a lot of lies out in these streets. There’s always this adage out there of people that think our community is just about partying and turning up, but we have to focus on us and be the change we seek,” said moderator Nicco Annan, best known for his role as Uncle Clifford on the Starz series “P-Valley.”
Panelist Dr. Leo Moore, a Los Angeles-based physician and author of “The Men’s Preventative Health Guide,” told the audience he wrote the book to encourage Black men to take ownership in their medical history.
“The focus (of that book) is to ensure men are aware of the screenings they should receive. There are brothers in our community who want to be on top of their healthcare, but they don’t know what all to ask for or what screening they’re actually due for,” Moore said.
Craig Washington, an Atlanta-based therapist and community organizer who was diagnosed with HIV in 1985, announced his plans to develop the Black Male AIDS Memory — an archive and storytelling platform that documents how HIV and AIDS impacted the Black community — next spring.
“It’s a continuum to preserve that history so that people will know not only the impact of that plague but our response as people,” Washington, 66, said.
Party with a purpose
On Saturday, event producer Marcus Johnson-McCaskill will host the second annual Drip, a circuit party at Westside Cultural Arts Center.
Guests will receive wristbands with QR codes linking to information about PrEP, a prescription drug that reduces the risk of contracting HIV.
“We’re just not all about HIV and sexual health but helping connect others to the same resources that we have. No matter what your income status is, you can have access and knowledge about the brands that are out there,” Johnson-McCaskill said.
Drip will also offer access to Doxy-PEP through A Vision 4 Hope, a College Park nonprofit that provides health services and support to LGBTQ+ communities. The clinic is partnering with Gilead Sciences at the event.
Doxy-PEP, short for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is a prescription antibiotic used after sex to reduce the risk of certain bacterial sexually transmitted infections.
“We really promote Black gay men partying safely. If you feel like you’re taking things a little too far, you can get a dose right there, because we want to help prevent the spread of STDs and STIs,” Johnson-McCaskill said. “It’s up to us to make sure we’re looking around in our community to see those who don’t have those resources and give them those resources.”
A celebration and public health intervention
Pure Heat Community Festival will mark its 20th anniversary Sunday at Piedmont Park with live music, vendors and community programming. The free outdoor event will also offer on-site HIV testing and voter education.
Gilead Sciences will have a photo booth where participants can scan a QR code to request HIV test kits by mail.
Burgess said efforts during Atlanta Black Pride are designed to connect health information with people through organizations and community leaders they already trust.
“Our community listens to messages that come from trusted messengers that connects knowledge and education to action. We are closing that gap,” Burgess said.
For Burgess, that work is also about ensuring that conversations about HIV do not overshadow the broader health and vitality of Black LGBTQ+ communities.
“Even though there are some difficult moments we’re navigating, there are so many ways we’re thriving, but we have to take some additional actions to make sure we’re healthy and well.”