National
Local, national events to mark 35th annual World AIDS Day
Advocates say stigma remains key obstacle to ending the epidemic
UNAIDS dubbed this year’s World AIDS Day theme as “Let Communities Lead.” This is how conversations around HIV and AIDS should be structured, Duante’ Brown said, who manages two programs at NMAC — a nonprofit dedicated to working to end the AIDS epidemic. People living with HIV need to be considered the subject matter experts, he said.
“Bringing those people into the room, showing them that they have a voice and that there’s not just this group of people who are making a decision for them … is definitely the way that you go about this.”
Brown manages the ESCALATE program at NMAC, which aims to empower people to address HIV stigma, and the ELEVATE program, which is a training program for people with HIV to be more involved in the planning and delivery of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which is the largest federal program designed specifically for people with HIV.
In the United States, it’s estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV, according to HIV.gov. About 13% are unaware they have HIV.
HIV also continues to disproportionately affect certain populations. Men who have sex with men accounted for 70% of the 32,100 estimated new HIV infections in 2021. And Black individuals accounted for 40% of the new infections that year, while only comprising 12% of the population of the United States, according to the CDC.
In 2023, stigma is a key inhibitor to ending the epidemic, Brown said. When stigma gets out of the way, there could be a day when there are no new cases of HIV transmissions, he said. To get around that stigma, people need to have meaningful and productive conversations about AIDS.
“Not treating it as taboo, making sure that we are empowering people living with HIV and AIDS to tell their stories and to be empowered to feel that it’s OK,” Brown said. “And that nothing is wrong with you.”
And there are several events in the region to recognize World AIDS Day, many of them aimed at abolishing the stigma that comes with talking about HIV.
World AIDS Day events
Whitman-Walker is hosting two events around World AIDS Day this year. There is the World AIDS Day Cabaret on Dec. 1, which is a 70-minute performance of “The Shadow of Her Smile” by Ann Talman. Talman starred alongside Elizabeth Taylor, a legendary AIDS advocate, on Broadway and locally at the Kennedy Center.
The show highlights Taylor’s advocacy for those with AIDS. She established the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991 to raise funds and awareness to fight the spread.
The show will be at The Corner at Whitman-Walker. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the $50 admission includes a complimentary cocktail.
Whitman-Walker is also hosting its Annual Walk to End HIV on Dec. 2. The 37th annual walk will begin at Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. This year, the walk celebrates the new Whitman-Walker location in Anacostia Park – the Max Robinson Center.
“We’re continuing this new tradition of hosting the walk east of the river as a way to really remind the community that there is a pillar of support care and resources to a very historically undervalued and underserved portion of Washington, D.C.,” said Dwight Venson, the external affairs and community coordinator at Whitman-Walker.
The warm-up begins at 8:45 a.m., and the walk kicks off at 9 a.m. Venson noted there is no need or pressure to fundraise — the goal is for people to come out and march.
More details on both events are available on Whitman-Walker’s website. The organization also provides HIV testing across D.C., and more details are available on its website.
At a national level, Janet Jackson is set to headline the World AIDS Day concert on Dec. 1 — an annual fundraiser sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The concert will be at the NRG Arena in Houston, and will also honor actor and activist Blair Underwood with its lifetime achievement award.
“[The concert] really is a way to commemorate World AIDS Day in a way that is both remembrance of those that we’ve lost, recognizing where we’re at, but also really celebrating and connecting the work that’s yet to be done. And having folks still leaving uplifted and elevated about what the future could hold,” said Imara Canady, AHF’s national director for communications and community engagement.
Jackson has long been an outspoken advocate for people living with HIV. Her song, “Together Again,” is a tribute to a friend she lost to AIDS, as well as a dedication to patients around the world.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest nonprofit HIV/AIDS service organization and advocacy group, has several health care centers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and many across the nation and world.
Mike McVicker-Weaver, the regional director for the D.C. and Baltimore area for AHF, said the local region has a robust network of providers to address HIV in the area, which is something to be proud of.
“I see a lot of collective effort on strategizing, to bring an end to the epidemic,” McVicker-Weaver said.
AHF also has a free HIV test locater online at freehivtest.net.
CAMP Rehoboth is hosting a World AIDS Day non-denominational service on Dec. 1. Attendees will walk from CAMP Rehoboth to All Saints’ Church on Olive Avenue at 5:30 p.m., and the service will begin at 6 p.m.
The service will feature the names of local people who have died of AIDS, and there will be performances by members of the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus. Attendees can also create a painted rock expressing their feelings about AIDS, loss and hope, which can be placed at the Peace Pole on CAMP Rehoboth grounds.
There will be a display of a portion of the AIDS Quilt for viewing at All Saints’ Church. There are also viewing opportunities on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. More details about the service are available on CAMP Rehoboth’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth recently expanded its HIV testing program, CAMPsafe, to offer daily free testing.
“It’s our work here to commit to making a better future where those cases are less,” said Matty Brown, the communications manager at CAMP Rehoboth. “We just want to make sure that there’s ample room for plenty of testing opportunities.”
Visual AIDS, an organization using art to raise AIDS awareness, is hosting a screening of five videos about connections between HIV and other forms of illness and disability. “Everyone I Know Is Sick” is on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m., and more details are available on Eventbrite.
D.C. Health is hosting a World AIDS Day Celebration on Nov. 30. There will be live performances, and the event is free. More details are available on Eventbrite.
The DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta is organizing a celebration and community HIV screening on Dec. 1 at Skyland Town Center. It’s an outdoor event, and attendees are encouraged to bring a chair and dress comfortably. More details are available on Eventbrite.
Daydream Sunshine Initiative is hosting an event with free screenings and a clothing closet in Mount Rainier, Md., on Dec. 1. More details are available on Eventbrite.
There is a World AIDS Day community celebration on Dec. 1 at Johns Hopkins, hosted by the nonprofit Begin Anew. The Baltimore city mayor and Savena Mushinge, Miss Maryland USA 2023, are expected to speak. More details are available on Eventbrite.
Montgomery County is hosting its third annual World AIDS Day Solidarity for Health Equity Breakfast at the Silver Spring Civic Building on Dec. 1. It will highlight HIV’s disproportionate impact on Black women in the county. More details are available on the Montgomery County government’s website.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
Congress
Ogles faces bipartisan backlash over anti-gay social media post
Tenn. congressman blamed the comment on staffer
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who represents Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, is facing backlash from LGBTQ advocates and fellow Republicans after a social media post declared that “homosexuality has no place in America.”
“Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month,” the congressman wrote in a post on X that was later deleted.
According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 6.3 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ.
Following widespread criticism, Ogles removed the post and blamed it on a staff member.
“The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded,” Ogles said in a statement.
The Washington Blade reached out to Ogles’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Among those condemning the message was U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who called it “absolutely idiotic” in a social media post.
“Homosexuality exists. In America,” Lawler wrote on X. “In fact, Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn’t make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also criticized Ogles’s remarks.
“For all of recorded history, homosexuals have been a part of humanity,” Cruz told TMZ DC. “I think the behavior of consenting adults is their business.”
Chris Sanders, the executive director for the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation provided a statement to the Blade about Ogles’s comment.
“The Tennessee Nuclear Family Month resolution has really backfired on conservatives by ensnaring Congressman Ogles in scandal. He used the resolution as a pretext to say that our community doesn’t belong in America, resulting in incredible backlash from across the partisan divide,” Sanders said. “It is a good opportunity for him to pause and reflect on whether it’s time for him to resign. Fighting one’s own constituents is not the purpose of serving in Congress.”
Human Rights Campaign Senior Press Secretary Jarred Keller provided a statement to the Blade regarding Ogles’s comments.
“LGBTQ+ people are woven into the fabric of America, and any politician who questions that is severely out of touch with reality. When so many people are worried about whether they can afford gas to get to work or groceries for their families, the last thing we need is right-wing Republicans targeting marginalized communities with hateful attacks,” Keller said. “Representative Ogles should spend less time attacking LGBTQ+ people and start addressing the issues that actually matter, because last I checked, our community isn’t the reason families are struggling to make ends meet.”
The controversy comes as Tennessee continues to advance legislation affecting LGBTQ residents. The state already has several laws on the books that LGBTQ advocates have criticized, including the Adult Entertainment Act, enacted in 2023, which restricts certain “adult cabaret performances.”
Lawmakers have also introduced additional measures this legislative session, including the “No Pride Flag or Month Act,” which would prohibit state employees, volunteers, and agents from displaying Pride flags or participating in Pride observances while acting in an official capacity.
Another proposal, the “Banning Bostock Act” would seek to limit the application of state anti-discrimination protections based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Tennessee lawmakers have also passed other measures restricting LGBTQ rights and access to gender-affirming health care.
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