On Dec. 7, Howard Brown Health in partnership with Life is Work presented a World AIDS Day observance, Legacy and Liberation II: United in the Fight.
The event, which took place at Gallery Guichard, 436 E. 47th Street, featured awards, a fireside chat, live entertainment, a full brunch, and HIV on-site testing. Entertainment was by drag artists Amalia Black, Victoria Le Paige and Dakota Monroe, along with Mikey Everything and his dancers. Legacy and Liberation Award recipients included advocates Chatrivia and Curtis Nugin; Jeff Berry, executive director of The Reunion Project; and Dante Brown, accepting for ELEVATE.
Participants in the fireside chat included Travis Gayles, president and CEO of Howard Brown Health; Carl Baloney, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United; and R. Wayne Woodson, acting CEO of NAESM, Inc., with Rev. Don Abrams, founder and CEO of Pride in the Pews, facilitating. Radio personality and producer Otis Mack served as emcee, and beats were provided by Khali Melon. There was a special moment of silence for activist Alvan Quamina, who had been executive director of NAESM, Inc., who died from cancer a short time before the event.
Sponsors for United in the Fight included AIDS United, Life is Work, Vital, Gilead, NAESM, Howard Brown Health, ViiV Healthcare and AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Photos by Vern Hester
