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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in Baltimore
City officials urge residents to get tested
‘The health of our city cannot be separated from the well-being of our residents,’ said Mayor Catherine Pugh. (Photo by Maryland GovPics; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
In recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Feb. 7, the Baltimore City Health Department and partners across the city held a series of community-based testing opportunities and events mobilizing communities to get educated, tested and treated.
First recognized in 1999, the theme for this year’s awareness day was “I Am My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper; Fight HIV/AIDS!”
“The health of our city cannot be separated from the well-being of our residents,” said Mayor Catherine Pugh. “While there has been significant progress toward ending the scourge of HIV and AIDS in Baltimore, there is much more to be done to reduce new infections, eliminate disparities, and improve the quality of life for all our residents.”
An estimated 13,000 Baltimore City residents are living with HIV/AIDS.
Although African Americans account for 62 percent of the population, they represent 82 percent of all people in Baltimore City with HIV/AIDS. African Americans are also five times more likely to die from HIV than their white counterparts. Additionally, while the lifetime risk of HIV among all people in the U.S. is 1 in 99, the risk for African-American men who have sex with men is 1 in 2.
Baltimore City has been awarded substantial funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support efforts, known as the IMPACT Campaign, to reduce HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender populations, with an emphasis on MSM of color.
The funding also supports the Baltimore City Health Department’s Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) program to reduce the acquisition of HIV. PrEP is a preventative approach to HIV infection that addresses risky behaviors and involves daily administration of an antiretroviral medication to prevent HIV infection.
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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