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Howard Univ. to host HIV/AIDS conference
Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, among speakers at International Conference on AIDS Stigma
Dr. Gregory Pappas (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Internationally recognized experts on the AIDS epidemic and how prevention and treatment efforts continue to be hindered by the stigmatization of the disease are scheduled to speak at an International Conference on AIDS Stigma scheduled to be held Nov. 30 on the campus of Howard University.
Among the scheduled speakers is Jeanne White Ginder, longtime AIDS activist and mother of the late Ryan White, who attracted international attention in the 1980s when he fought AIDS discrimination as a child infected with HIV through treatment for hemophilia.
Other speakers include Dr. Gregory Pappas, director of the D.C. Office of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STDs and Tuberculosis; Dr. Sohail Rana, Professor of Pediatrics, Howard University College of Medicine; Daniel Montoya, Deputy Executive Director, National Minority AIDS Council; and Nick DeLuca, chief, Prevention and Communication Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
International experts on the subject of AIDS-related stigma scheduled to speak will be from such countries as Uganda, Peru and South Africa, according to a program summary released by organizers.
“Stigma is the worst abuse of human rights,” said Rana, the Howard pediatrics professor and lead organizer of the conference, in a statement. “It kills individuals and spreads disease.”
Titles of some of the panel sessions slated for the conference include:
• Faith Based AIDS Ministries – Challenges and Lessons Learned
• Stigma in Immigrant Populations: African and Latino Perspectives
• Best Practices in Addressing and Eradicating Stigma: Lessons Learned from Research
The conference, which is open to the public, is scheduled to take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, at Howard University’s Blackburn Center Ballroom.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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