National
Lawmakers warn of HIV crisis as federal support collapses
NMAC hosted Capitol Hill event on Wednesday
NMAC, formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council, a nonprofit organization that works for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic, held its 6th annual Hill Champions reception on Wednesday in the Rayburn House Office Building to honor federal legislators who have worked to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and around the world.
Currently there are an estimated 40.8 million people worldwide living with HIV, with about 1.2 million people in the U.S. with the disease. While there is no cure, there are highly effective treatments that can control the virus and allow people to live long, healthy lives called antiretroviral therapy that can reduce the amount of virus in the body to an undetectable level, which also prevents the spread of HIV to others.
This year, NMAC’s reception featured a slew of current policymakers who use their national platforms to push for expanding HIV funding in Congress. This year’s honorees were three congresswomen who are active voices for HIV/AIDS on the House floor: U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.).
The awards presented to the representatives are named after three congressional icons who have dedicated their lives to ensuring the voices of the most marginalized are heard, seen, and helped.
Crockett received the John Lewis Good Trouble Award, Jacobs received the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV/Advocacy Award, and Ramirez received the Elijah Cummings Award for Minority Health Equity.
NMAC CEO Harold J. Phillips, the former director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy under President Joe Biden, was one of the first to speak at the event. He congratulated the honorees, highlighted work accomplished this past year in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and outlined what lies ahead as the current president continues to slash funding for public health initiatives worldwide.
“Tonight, we gather to celebrate what’s possible when courage meets commitment, when leaders refuse to let politics stand in the way of saving lives, we’re in a critical moment. Political uncertainty threatens the very programs that have transformed HIV into a manageable condition, but a crisis creates an opportunity for collective action,” Phillips said. “For more than 40 years, the HIV movement has thrived because of bipartisan leadership, leaders who understood that public health transcends party lines. Now more than ever, we need advocates on the hill.”
He continued, spotlighting actions taken by the honorees for the HIV movement during a time when some of the highest officials in government refuse to acknowledge it.
“What unites these champions is their understanding that HIV advocacy is not political — it is moral. They show us what it looks like when leaders treat public health as a responsibility, not a bargaining chip.”
Jacobs and Ramirez attended in person, while Crockett, who was unable to be there, sent a video.
In her speech after receiving the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV/Advocacy Award, Jacobs emphasized that the policies and initiatives put forward through the HIV Caucus and public health organizations in the U.S. have global impact — particularly regarding PEPFAR. Jacobs has been a consistent champion for people living with HIV, military service rights, and protecting the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“PEPFAR has saved over 25 million lives, but cuts are already causing catastrophic setbacks,” Rep. Jacobs said, explaining that even with progress made due to PEPFAR funding, places like Malawi reaching the 95-95-95 goal (95 percent of all people with HIV knew their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed were on lifesaving antiretrovirals, and 95 percent of those on medication were unable to transmit HIV) will continue to suffer. “In Malawi, where services for LGBTQ people, sex workers, young women, and other marginalized groups have been eliminated, it’s no longer a question of if transmission rates will rise — but when. We cannot leave communities behind or allow preventable deaths because of political decisions made in Washington.”
“I know that people of color, immigrants and trans people, have all been let down by our mainstream approach to HIV prevention and everything, I see seven barriers they face in accessing health care, the stigma surrounding disease and the lack of awareness from people in power,” the San Diego congresswoman said. “I want to say to those in that community, I will not let you fall through the cracks. I will not let you become another statistic, and I will keep working to make sure your voice is heard and that you can live a full and healthy life.”
Crockett, who addressed the crowd via video, emphasized her award’s namesake, explaining that the “good trouble” she gets into on the House floor and in committees can be deemed too much even by those in her own party, but that she remains committed to making HIV treatment accessible to all, regardless of background.
“To receive an award named after John Lewis is an honor all on its own. It means being bold, speaking up when others are scared to and standing firm when the truth makes people uncomfortable. And y’all know me — I don’t mind stirring a little trouble, especially when I am stirring trouble that is good trouble — but I never do it alone. I do it with the strength of the communities I represent. I do it with the stories of the folks who feel unheard. I do it for the people who depend on someone in those halls of Congress to fight for them. So this award isn’t just mine. It belongs to every advocate pushing for access to health care, every person navigating their own health journey, every organizer who refuses to give up.”
She continued, without directly calling out the White House, making allusions to pushing back against the recent emergence of budget cuts.
“I promise to keep fighting for funding, for research, for resources ,and for every community that needs a champion, because getting into good trouble isn’t just a phrase, it’s a calling, a calling we all share in this room,” Crockett said. “Thank you again for this honor, and thank you for your leadership, your fight and your refusal to back down. Now, let’s keep getting into that good trouble.”
Ramirez, who represents a part of Chicago, was previously in the Illinois House of Representatives, where she co-sponsored legislation to allow minors to access HIV and STI testing, prevention, and treatment without parental consent. She was also a chief co-sponsor in securing $10 million in state funding for this initiative in Illinois, and was the House chief co-sponsor for the “disrupting disparities for LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV” initiative.
“I am clear more than ever that a commitment to ending the HIV and AIDS epidemic must continue to be our priority, and we must demonstrate that priority not through words, my friends, but through action — fighting for and protecting our neighbors, living with HIV or AIDS, including our LGBTQI plus neighbors,” Ramirez said. “It means showing up, telling our stories, celebrating each other and fighting side by side for that collective liberation, which only makes me more grateful for the people in this room.”
She also used the platform to criticize how some of Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to healthcare coverage funding were directed at underserved communities within the U.S. — namely undocumented immigrants like her parents.
“I want you to know that as members of Congress, we cannot go through day to day as business as usual, today is the time to demand that our siblings living with HIV and AIDS, no matter their sexual orientation, no matter their gender expression, no matter their zip code, their background or their citizenship status, that they get everything that they deserve, every Damn thing, so that they can live a healthy and thriving life.”
While the event was intended to celebrate the accomplishments of legislators, advocates, and supporters of the fight against HIV/AIDS, the tone of the night was noticeably more charged following the Trump-Vance administration’s refusal to acknowledge World AIDS Day — and the reported directive instructing federal employees not to comment about it on any channels, including social media and traditional media.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made a surprise appearance, celebrating the three legislators while emphasizing the critical importance of supporting HIV/AIDS research now that the White House has refused to acknowledge it.
“It’s really important this year, because this is the first time in a very long time that we have had World AIDS Day when the president of the United States has said, we can’t really talk about it and we certainly should not observe it for two days. On Sunday and Monday in San Francisco, we did exactly that. We talked about it, and we observed it, and here we are talking about it here, because, as Congressman Crockett said, and we all know, we’re here to fight for funding. We’re fighting for research, prevention, and all of that, but we’re also here to fight against discrimination and stigma anybody wants to attach to this, and that starts with you in the White House,” Pelosi said. “We have a fight on our hands, because this isn’t over.. [to] make sure that any discussion of HIV ends up in the dust bin of history, an ancient malady when our children, grandchildren all grow up. ‘What was that?’ It was something that doesn’t exist anymore because of the goodness of others, because of the National Minority AIDS Council.”
Maxine Waters slams Trump
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) also made an appearance and delivered an unfiltered, passionate speech praising NMAC’s efforts and calling out Trump for ending funding for HIV/AIDS worldwide while simultaneously accepting donations to rebuild the White House as he sees fit.
“I want to tell you when they asked, how was I doing when I came in, really, I was thinking about the president of the United States and what’s going on now, it’s so troubling. And I find myself not sleeping as well as I normally sleep. I find myself trying to believe that what I see is happening is absolutely happening,” Waters said. “Many of our people with HIV and AIDS are homeless, and they’re not being taken care of, and they’re going to die with the cuts that are being made. Unfortunately, we just got to say it.”
She continued, calling out Trump’s lack of focus on domestic issues like HIV/AIDS that directly impact American citizens, instead prioritizing issues unrelated to the public’s welfare.
“The fact that the president of the United States is killing people in international waters in Venezuela, not knowing whether or not they’re drug dealers or not, not caring, and I think about two people, two men hanging on the side of the boat who had escaped the bomb that hit, and they said, kill him, and they shot him down and killed it’s hard to live with this. It’s hard to understand how all of this is happening. And so Trump refused to commemorate World AIDS Day, and his State Department instructed employees and grantees to refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public facing messaging let’s just be an honorary Why would he be focused on us celebrating or working with World AIDS Day and helping people to understand that HIV and AIDS is still a big problem in this country, and we have to spend money. We have to do what it takes in order to provide the medicine and the health care that they need. Why would he just be against that? He’s already cutting the funds. But just go even further and say and don’t even promote World AIDS Day. It’s bothersome. Trump halted funds for PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was created under the leadership of former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the co-founder of the Congressional HIV AIDS Caucus.”
“There’s a very rich man that paid attention to what was going on with HIV and AIDS, and that was Bill Gates. And I’d like to quote him and what he said. ‘We’re already seeing the tragic impact of reductions in aid, and we know the number of date deaths will continue to rise.’ Here in the United States, where Nancy and I just talked about the creation of Minority AIDS Initiative to address AIDS disparities, and where the initiative has grown from 156 million when we first started in 1999 to more than 400 million per year. Today, Donald Trump is waging an all out war on people living with HIV. Trump’s budget proposal completely eliminated HIV prevention funding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he slashed the funds from Ryan White AIDS care and HIV research. We cannot allow, we cannot allow these devastating cuts to be implemented, and so we’re doing everything that we possibly can to fight Donald Trump on all of these issues. I want you to know that this attack on many of our friends who happened to come from other countries is just outrageous, and what he said about Somalia today just cannot be understood or accepted. And so for all of the nice people in the room, get mad, get angry. Do a little cursing. Tell people what you think about it, because if you’re too nice, nobody believes you. You got to kick a little butt. You got to make sure that they understand we’re in this fight and we’re not going to go away. I know he’s the president of the United States, but he shouldn’t be. He’s the president of the United States with a cabinet that knows nothing and cares nothing about anybody. I dare anybody to talk about minorities and want to know whether or not we’re qualified. Hell, they have the most unqualified people that you’ve ever witnessed in your life, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. We want to get rid of all of them dealing with this public policy, doing everything that we can, educating people. Don’t forget, you got to get them to vote.”
She spoke for 17 minutes, touching on many current events but repeatedly returning to the point that the president is supposed to represent the people — not his own interests.
“I came here to talk about AIDS, but I wasn’t going to let you go without talking about some other stuff too. And I’m going to leave you with saying, not only are we concerned and we’re upset about the kind of cuts that are made, whether we’re talking about health care, we’re talking about AIDS in particular, whether we’re talking about Section Eight, whether we’re talking about food stamps, this crazy man is destroying the White House — bulldozes the East Wing. Why would he do that? And why would he spend over $300 million to do that while he’s cutting all of these programs? Well, he’ll say it’s being donated. Well, get it donated to AIDS. You know what I’m saying. Why are you getting it donated? And then, last of all, which pisses me off, you. Definitely, and I just think it’s crazy and outrageous. He wants to take the John F. Kennedy Center and name it after Melania. What the hell?”
In a moment when federal silence grows louder, the advocates in that room offered a counterpoint — a reminder that community, courage, and persistence still drive the fight to end HIV.
National
Blade reporters reflect on covering Pulse massacre 10 years ago
Orlando stepped up to comfort and support its LGBTQ community
Friday marks 10 years since a gunman killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
The massacre, which, at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, left the LGBTQ community in this country and around the world reeling. It also prompted renewed calls for gun control.
The OnePulse Foundation, which Pulse owner Barbara Poma founded after the massacre, raised upwards of $20 million for a memorial that never materialized.
The city of Orlando in 2023 purchased the Pulse property for $2 million. Crews earlier this year demolished the former nightclub. The city of Orlando has pledged $12 million for a permanent memorial that is scheduled to open in 2027.
Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff and International News Editor Michael K. Lavers reported from Orlando in the days after the massacre. Here are their reflections a decade later.
Describe the scene when you arrived in Orlando. Where did you go first?
NAFF: Most mainstream reporters headed for the Pulse nightclub, but it was already roped off with police keeping bystanders at least a full city block away. Instead, I hurried to The Center, Orlando’s LGBTQ community center, downtown. I expected to find it locked down with tight security but instead the doors were flung open and everyone inside was busy at work. No tears, just dedicated staff and volunteers working the phones to secure visas and free plane tickets for relatives of the victims. The director gave me a tour and in the back storage room were pallets and pallets of bottled water stacked to the ceiling. When I asked what all the water was for, he said the city had issued a call for blood donations and the lines to donate were 1,500 deep in 100-degree heat. So The Center drove around to all the sites to deliver water to all those standing in line.
That scene was so inspiring and a testament to the strength and resiliency of the LGBTQ community. We’d seen tragedy before and knew how to respond.
LAVERS: I arrived in Orlando about 14 hours after the massacre took place. The city was shellshocked.
Equality Florida, the state’s LGBTQ advocacy group, and other organizations held a press conference at The Center shortly after my flight from D.C. landed. I drove there from the airport. Terry DeCarlo, who was The Center’s executive director at the time, along with then-Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith and others spoke on behalf of a community that was reeling. The Center at the press conference handed out business cards that read, “You matter.” I had it in my wallet when I drove to a makeshift memorial that was a block from Pulse — the police had cordoned off the area immediately around the nightclub. A local resident who I interviewed told me that she did not know if her friends who were at Pulse when the gunman opened fire survived. Another person with whom I spoke shared a similar story.
A torrential downpour began shortly after I arrived. The storm was an apt metaphor for the raw emotion of that horrific day.
What’s your most prominent memory of covering the Pulse massacre?
NAFF: I was covering a vigil in downtown Orlando when then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s motorcade arrived unannounced. To that point, he had not addressed the LGBTQ angle and seemed to be downplaying the fact that this was an attack on our community. I hurried to the front row as he held an impromptu news conference. To my dismay, he took only three short questions from TV reporters then rushed away. I grabbed his communications director and insisted that Scott take a question from the LGBTQ media. She agreed and told me to wait next to the SUV. When Scott approached, I asked him, “What is your message to LGBTQ Floridians?”
To my surprise, he sputtered, stammered, and broke into tears before telling me, “This was an attack, what else can you say? This was an attack against the gays, an attack against Hispanics, an attack against our country, our nation and it’s disgusting. The biggest thing we do now is ask how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
It was his first public acknowledgment that the LGBTQ community was the target of the attack.
LAVERS: Two moments stand out for me.
The first moment is when then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Orlando on June 16, four days after the massacre. I was one of the reporters who the White House asked to be part of the local press pool. I was about 50 feet away from Obama and Biden when they placed bouquets with 49 flowers — one for each of the victims — at a makeshift memorial between City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. Obama in remarks he made to the press pool mentioned one of the gay victims who had once said, “We cannot be afraid.” The emotions of the last four days simply became too much, and I broke down. Another reporter who was part of the press pool who was standing next to me realized I had broken down. She put her hand on my back to console me.
The second moment came a few weeks later when I was in Puerto Rico to cover the community’s response to the massacre and to interview victims’ relatives. Orlando has a very large Puerto Rican community, and nearly half of those who died at Pulse were of Puerto Rican descent.
I drove to Caguas, a city that is roughly 20 miles south of San Juan, the island’s capital, on July 7, and interviewed Aida Velázquez in her small apartment. Her son, Frankie “Jimmy” de Jesús, died at Pulse. Aida talked about her son, and she showed me pictures of him. Jimmy also danced Jíbaro, a Puerto Rican folk dance. The interview took place less than a month after the massacre — Jimmy’s funeral took place in Caguas less than two weeks earlier.
I sat in my car after the interview and sobbed uncontrollably for nearly five minutes. Nothing can possibly prepare you for interviewing a mother who had just lost her child in the most horrific way possible.
How did the local community respond and what about their response gave you hope or inspiration?
NAFF: In addition to the staff at The Center working to assist victims and their families, everyday Orlando residents stepped up to help however they could. At the downtown vigils, straight mothers and fathers carried signs offering hugs to anyone who needed them. I encountered a group of young teenage males who approached a group of law enforcement officers and appeared to perform for them. When they finished, I asked what they were doing and they told me that they were straight friends who lived in Orlando and wanted to do something to help so they composed an uplifting rap song and walked around performing it for anyone who needed cheering up.
LAVERS: The way that Orlando rallied around the LGBTQ community was simply inspiring.
Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, at a memorial service that took place at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center on June 13 said his organization was “united as Americans when it comes to standing with the LGBT community and their rights to live freely and to practice their lives here.” This comment underscored the outpouring of support that Orlando showed its LGBTQ community after Pulse. It was also a call for the better angels among us to reject hate in all of its forms.
What surprised you most about the experience?
NAFF: I was most surprised — and moved — after talking to Rev. Debreita Taylor of Oasis Fellowship Ministries, an LGBTQ-affirming ministry.
“My message is love. Period. Love. Period. There’s nothing in the word of God that faith leaders can go to that teaches hate,” she told me. “Have faith and believe that evil and hate can be eradicated one person at a time. How do you treat someone? How do you embrace someone who treats you wrong? We all bleed, laugh, hope and have great victories and major defeats. And so, you know me, even if you don’t know my name — I’m you.”
LAVERS: It admittedly took me quite a while to fully process what I experienced in Orlando — I was focused on doing my job as a reporter, which was to cover the story, and, most importantly, show the human impact of what had happened. I suppose one surprising aspect of the time I spent in Orlando was that I found myself feeling more defiant against those who seek to destroy our community. They want us to live in fear, and I refuse to give them that satisfaction.
What, if anything, changed as a result of Pulse?
NAFF: In the immediate aftermath of the attack, queer spaces began rethinking their approach to security, which has served us well in the years since. Sadly, just a year later, Pulse was bumped to the No. 2 deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history when a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, killing 60 people. Americans and their politicians never learn from these largely preventable tragedies. The carnage continues.
LAVERS: Gun violence remains a shameful scourge in this country. Our community remains vulnerable to violence and discrimination. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other politicians here in Washington, around the country, and overseas continue to use our community to advance an anti-equality agenda. The carnage continues, as my colleague correctly notes, but our community remains strong and defiant. That gives me hope.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
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.
PHOTOS: The Audacity Brunch
D.C. Council approves expanded grant funding for Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Baltimore Pride is here
Calendar: June 12-18
Hundreds of thousands expected to attend D.C. Pride events
PHOTOS: Pride Run
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
David Archuleta, Monroe Alise named D.C. Pride parade marshals
