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HIV/AIDS activist Rae Lewis-Thornton on her new memoir, 'Unprotected'
Emmy-winning HIV/AIDS activist, author, minister, political organizer, motivational speaker, life coach, jewelry designer and social media figure Rae Clara Lewis-Thornton's recently released book, Unprotected: A Memoir, is already a pre-release ...
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PASSAGES Dr. David Ostrow dies at 74
Longtime researcher Dr. David Gene Ostrow, of Chicago, died unexpectedly on Feb. 16 at home. He was 74. The cause of death was end-stage renal disease, according to the Tribute Archive website. Ostrow was born on ...
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Running squad 'Team to End AIDS' calls for participants to raise funds
-- From a press release
(Chicago, IL) Over the last 19 years, TEAM TO ENDS AIDS (T2)—the only HIV charity fundraising marathon team in the Midwest—has raised more than $13 million for HIV/AIDS awareness and direct support for those living with ...
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Book-signing for HIV/AIDS activist's 'Unprotected: A Memoir' on May 21
-- From a press release
"I had been torn apart by the doings of others and blamed myself for surviving to the best of my ability. It would literally take decades for me to understand that I was the product of what happened to me." Emmy ...
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NATIONAL Campus Pride, HIV and the military, IVF suit, Billie Jean King
Campus Pride—along with 36 other national/regional organizations such as GLSEN, PFLAG National and TransAthlete.com—requested that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) incorporate non-binary students into ...
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Indiana Univ. to host inaugural national HIV conference
Indiana University (IU) will host the first IU National HIV Conference, "Stepping into the 5th Decade: Evolving Our Response to HIV," June 8-11 in Indianapolis. Hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity ...
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National Black Justice Coalition honors National Transgender HIV Testing Day
-- From a press release
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, April 18th, is National Transgender HIV Testing Day (NTHTD). On this day, local, state, federal, and national organizations unite to recognize the importance of routine HIV ...
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Legislation to increase critical access to HIV prevention meds passes Illinois House
-- From a press release
SPRINGFIELD — On April 7, HB4430—Increasing Access to PrEP and PEP sponsored by State Representative Kelly M. Cassidy—passed the Illinois House on concurrence with a vote of 72-30. This bill ...
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Federal court strikes down Pentagon's restrictions on military service of people Living with HIV as unconstitutional
-- From a press release
"The court ruled that the Pentagon's policies regarding service members with HIV are not only outdated, but unlawful, arbitrary and capricious, and unconstitutional . . . one of the strongest judicial rulings in over two decades ...
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Simmons measure passes Senate, would allow pharmacists to provide HIV testing, PrEP and PEP medications
-- From a press release
SPRINGFIELD — To allow more people to access HIV preventative care easier, Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) is leading a measure to allow pharmacists to provide HIV tests and preventative medications to help reduce new ...
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AFC calls on state legislature to pass Getting to Zero Illinois 2030 bills
AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) held its annual HIV Advocacy Day on March 9, saying it is focused on the Getting to Zero Illinois Plan (GTZ-IL) that aims to end the HIV epidemic in the state by ...
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San Francisco to host largest display of AIDS Memorial Quilt in a decade
The National AIDS Memorial will mark the 35th anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt with an historic outdoor display in Golden Gate Park that will feature nearly 3,000 hand-stitched panels of the Quilt. The free public ...
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Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party raises $8.6M
The 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party took place March 27 at West Hollywood Park, raising $8.6 million for the foundation's work to end AIDS. The event was hosted by 12-time Grammy-winning ...
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'End the Epidemics' calls for $105M to fight HIV, STI, viral hepatitis, overdoses in CA
-- From an Equality California press release
SACRAMENTO Today, End the Epidemics, a statewide coalition of more than 150 community organizations, called on Governor Newsom and the California Legislature to allocate $105 million in the state budget to address alarming increases in ...
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Legislation introduced to increase critical access to HIV prevention medications
-- Press release from the Office of State Representative Kelly M. Cassidy 14th District
SPRINGFIELD Yesterday evening, HB4430 Increased Access to PrEP and PEP sponsored by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy was brought to the Illinois House floor to continue to address the health disparities communities ...
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National AIDS Memorial honors Pedro Zamora's 50th birthday, naming 11 scholars
-- From a press release
SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 28, 2022) — The National AIDS Memorial is honoring the legacy of AIDS educator and activist Pedro Zamora on what would have been his 50th birthday by formally announcing the latest recipients of ...
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U.S. team: Woman may have been cured of HIV
A U.S. research team reported that it has possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time, NBC News reported. These scientists used a cutting-edge stem cell transplant method that they expect will expand the ...
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French co-discoverer of HIV dies at 89
French researcher Luc Montagnier—who won a Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering HIV and, more recently, spread false claims about the coronavirus—has died at age 89, ABC News noted. Montagnier died Feb. 8 at the American ...
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AFC bringing World of Chocolate to homes with 'Life is Like a Box of Chocolates'
After canceling its World of Chocolate event due to the recent COVID-19 surge, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) has decided to transition this top-tier event into a special, at-home experience. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, ...
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National AIDS Memorial observes Black History Month with online programs
-- From a press release
SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 7, 2022) — The National AIDS Memorial marks Black History Month and National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with featured online programming honoring Black lives touched by AIDS. A specially curated selection of stories ...
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AFC announces Racial Equity Action Plan on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
On Feb. 7—National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day—AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) announced its first-ever Racial Equity Action Plan. This three-year plan intends to heal past harms and achieve racial equity both ...
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Gilead: Patients received fake HIV drugs
Gilead Sciences Inc said an unauthorized network of drug distributors and suppliers sold pharmacies more than $250 million of counterfeit versions of its HIV treatments over the last two years, endangering patients, Reuters reported. The drugmaker ...
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AIDS Foundation Chicago cancels World of Chocolate due to COVID-19 surge
-- From a press release
CHICAGO AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) has made the difficult decision to cancel its World of Chocolate event, the organization's largest winter fundraiser, due to the recent Omicron surge across ...
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NATIONAL California report, AIDS foundation CEO, QueerArt, intersex bill
California law enforcement officials conduct body searches on Black and transgender people more often than on white and cisgender people, according to a new report from California's Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board, LGBTQ Na ...
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FDA approves injectable PrEP
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 77 pounds for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to ...
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World of Chocolate fundraiser returns Feb. 11, benefits AIDS Foundation Chicago
--From a press release
After a two-year hiatus, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) is proud to announce the return of its famed World of Chocolate fundraiser taking place on Friday, Feb/ 11 at Union Station, 500 W. Jackson Blvd. Inspired by ...
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HIV AT 40: Longtime advocate Gregg Gonsalves talks activist roots, Larry Kramer and COVID
When it comes to dealing with HIV/AIDS, few people have been on the front lines—in the areas of activism, research and instruction—like Gregg Gonsalves. Gonsalves, a MacArthur fellow, is an expert in policy modeling on infectious ...
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AIDS Garden Chicago supporters, CDPH official commemorate World AIDS Day with event
AIDS Garden Chicago supporters and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) commemorated the 34th annual World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 at the Belmont Yacht Club with a sneak preview of the garden. The 2.5-acre ...
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Five Worth Finding: World AIDS Day, 'Benedetta,' books, wine in a can
—World AIDS Day event at Belmont Harbor: —The Chicago Parks Foundation will hold a World AIDS Day event on Dec. 1, 9-10:30 a.m., at the Belmont Harbor Yacht Club. Antonio King, LGBTQ health and outreach liaison ...
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World AIDS Day events on tap
World AIDS Day takes place every year on Dec. 1. During this year—which marks the 40th anniversary since HIV was officially discovered—here are some of the events taking place (locally, regionally and nationally) on, before and ...
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AFC commemorates passing of the HIV decriminalization law with World AIDS Day event Dec. 1
--From a press release
The World AIDS Day Community Celebration of the Historic Passage of HB1063, which ended criminal penalties against people living with HIV, will be hosted by AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC). It will also commemorate World AIDS Day ...
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AIDS Foundation Chicago awards grants to Black- and Latinx-led organizations
AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) has awarded eight grants—totaling $72,000—to BIPOC-led organizations working to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in Black and Latinx neighborhoods across Chicago. The grants came from AFC's Learning ...
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National AIDS Memorial to hold World AIDS Day national events Nov. 30 and Dec. 1
--From a press release
SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 9, 2021) — On December 1, the National AIDS Memorial brings three powerful programs to the public for World AIDS Day that offer inspiration, hope, remembrance, and reflection. The programming, free to the ...
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WORLD Indian commission, queer royals, MTV, Putin, attack in Jamaica
India's National Medical Commission has ordered publishers and medical schools to edit their textbooks and curricula to exclude discriminatory and unscientific portrayals of LGBTI people, according to Human Rights Watch. ...
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HHS awards $2.21B in FY2021 for HIV care, support services, medication
--From a press release
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced approximately $2.21 billion in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding for cities, counties, states, and local community-based organizations in fiscal year ...
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Illinois HIV Care Connect launches HIV Innovation campaign
On Oct. 5, Illinois HIV Care Connect launched its HIV Innovation web and social-media campaign, showcasing several Illinois HIV initiatives that are helping to prevent or treat HIV more effectively. Articles about five initiatives so far ...
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Proceeds from 30th Annual AIDS Run & Walk Chicago to help 26 HIV/AIDS organizations
--From a press release
CHICAGO On Saturday, Oct. 2, at 9:30 a.m., more than 1,700 advocates and supporters will gather safely at Soldier Field to participate in the 30th annual AIDS Run & Walk Chicago (ARWC) to support individuals ...
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HHS awards $48M to health centers to expand HIV prevention, treatment
On Sept. 16, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded more than $48 million to 271 HRSA-supported health centers across 26 states, Puerto Rico and ...
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New safety precautions announced for 30th annual AIDS Run & Walk Chicago Oct. 2
--From a press release
CHICAGO AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) has announced proof of full vaccination or negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of event will be required for all in-person participants for the 30th annual AIDS Run & ...
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HIV AT 40: Global activist Phill Wilson talks Chicago, the '80s and vaccines
Phill Wilson is one of the best-known HIV/AIDS activists/educators around the globe. The Chicago native was the co-founder of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention. He ...
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Feds expand insurers' requirements for PrEP coverage
Insurers and service-providers have until September to comply with a new federal guidance requiring insurance companies to cover the entire cost of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) interventions. Many insurers have been ...
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NATIONAL Ann Arbor ban, Buttigieg, NYC settlement, Gloria Allred
Using gay conversion therapy on minors to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity is now officially banned in Ann Arbor, Michigan, according to MLive.com. "So-called conversion therapy is, of course, an abomination," Mayor ...
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Chicago Academy's 25th annual AIDS benefit show Sept. 24-25
Each year, Chicago Academy for the Arts students produce and perform in a variety show to support HIV/AIDS research and organizations. The 25th Annual AIDS Benefit will take place Sept. 24-25 at The Academy, 1010 W. ...
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U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS moves to virtual
--From a press release
Aug. 10, 2021 - NMAC today announced that the 2021 US Conference on HIV/AIDS will move from an in-person conference to a virtual meeting due to the continued spread of the Delta variant of the Covid ...
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PrEP pills to be free for insured people
The U.S. government has stated that nearly all health insurers must cover the entire cost of HIV prevention treatments, according to U.S. News & World Report. That includes the two approved pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs Truvada ...
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Gilead requests approval of twice-a-year HIV medication
Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences recently submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—and it's for the drug lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV inhibitor that is under clinical ...
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Making Gay History Podcast to launch Season 9:"Coming of Age During the AIDS Crisis"
--From a press release
NEW YORK, NY Thursday, June 24, 2021 The award-winning Making Gay History podcast will debut its ninth season, "Coming of Age During the AIDS Crisis," on July 1, 2021. After eight seasons of episodes ...
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HRC Foundation launches national HIV/AIDS campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation announced the launch of "My Body, My Health," a comprehensive public education campaign that works toward building a generation free of HIV/AIDS and stigma. ...
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HIV/AIDS AFC, Getting to Zero award $350K in grants
AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) joined Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL) in announcing the grant recipients for the first-ever Getting to Zero Illinois Community Grant Program a pool of grants totaling $350,000. ...
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New book sets the record straight on Act Up New York
Novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, journalist, screenwriter, LGBTQ+-rights activist and AIDS historian Sarah Schuman preserves the power of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) while laying everything out about ...
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When crime goes viral
Activists say Illinois's law that makes it illegal to expose others to HIV is racist and homophobic. Now they're close to changing it.
In early 2016, Jimmy Amutavi had what he considered a happy life. More ...
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HIV at 40: Erie Family Health Center, focused on helping at-risk communities
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects Black communities with Black gay and bisexual Black men and Black trans women being the most affected population than any other group in the country. More specifically, one in two Black MSM (men who ...
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HIV at 40: Dr. Anthony Fauci on the early days of another pandemic
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been called "America's doctor"—and with good reason. His face and advice regarding COVID have seemingly been omnipresent since the virus affected the masses early in 2020. However, decades before the word "coronavirus" ...
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National AIDS Memorial brings leaders of AIDS movement together to mark 40 years
--From a press release
San Francisco (Saturday, June 5, 2021) — Leaders of the AIDS movement came together in the National AIDS Memorial — the nation's federally-designated memorial to AIDS — to mark forty years since the first cases of ...
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Harold J. Phillips appointed director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
--From a press release
Statement from Jeffrey S. Crowley, distinguished scholar and director of the Infectious Disease Initiatives at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center: I applaud President Biden's appointment of ...
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Mayor Lightfoot helps break ground at AIDS Garden Chicago
On June 2, various local officials, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, helped break ground at the AIDS Garden Chicago the city's first public park to memorialize the early days of Chicago's HIV epidemic, and to honor those ...
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Incarceration for HIV crimes in Georgia cost the state $9 million
--From a press release
Between 1999-2020, as many as 133 people were incarcerated in Georgia prisons for HIV-related crimes New analysis from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that as many as 133 people have been incarcerated ...
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Kelsey Louie to step down as CEO of GMHC
After seven years leading the New York City-based HIV/AIDS services organization GMHC (formerly known as Gay Men's Health Crisis), Kelsey Louie is stepping down, Gay City News reported. According to a Facebook post, Louie is planning ...
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Senate approves Peters' HIV decriminalization proposal
--From a press release
SPRINGFIELD — Illinoisans living with human immunodeficiency virus will soon be free from fear of criminal prosecution after a measure sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) cleared its final ...
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MOVIES/TV Billy Porter reveals he's been HIV-positive for 14 years
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, award-winning actor/singer Billy Porter (TV's Pose) revealed he's been living with HIV for almost 15 years, NBC News noted. "This is what HIV-positive looks like now. I'm going to ...
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Decriminalization of HIV approved in Judiciary-Criminal Committee
--From a Illinois HIV Action Alliance press release
SPRINGFIELD Today, the Illinois House Judiciary-Criminal Committee voted 18-0 to approve House Bill 1063 HA1, which would end criminal penalties against people living with HIV (PLWH). Under current law, PLWH face the threat of arrest, ...
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HIV/AIDS Report: Vaccine may hold promise
Preliminary data from an early stage clinical trial out of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, suggests that a new HIV vaccine may hold promise, ABC News ...
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AIDS Healthcare Foundation Lake View clinic holds ribbon-cutting
Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) held a ribbon-cutting event for its Lake View facility on March 31. The clinic, 3311 N. Halsted St., is housed within AHF's Out of the Closet thrift store and will ...
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NATIONAL Anti-trans attacks, Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, tower, Mary Trump
Rayanna Pardo, a 26-year-old Latinx trans woman, was struck by a car and killed while fleeing from a small mob in Los Angeles on March 17, out.com reported. Security video showed Pardo being chased and assaulted ...
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Season of Concern benefit with Dixie Longate through March 28
Dixie Longate the fast-talking, gum chewing, ginger-haired Alabama drag personality is headlining Dixie's Happy Hour as a benefit for Season of Concern Chicago. People are urged to spend an evening with Dixie ...
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AFC holds virtual annual meeting, awards ceremony: Innovation Through Action
AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) held its annual meeting and awards ceremony, "Innovation Through Action," March 4 via Zoom. (It was virtual due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.) AFC President/CEO John Peller said that although much has ...
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SPECIAL ISSUE: AIDS at 40
In this special quarterly issue, produced by Windy City Timesas as an insert to the Chicago Reader, Windy City Times speaks with long-term HIV/AIDS survivors, deals with HIV-positive representation in media, checks in on young activists of today ...
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PrEP options likely to change following Truvada patent expiration
Among the myriad challenges facing HIV/AIDS advocates and healthcare providers has been increasing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, among persons at risk for HIV transmission. A PrEP intervention, which usually consists of taking the oral ...
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TANIA UNZUETA: Fighting for justice, one cause at a time
LGBTQ, immigration and political activist Tania Unzueta has spent the last three years living in Georgia involved in political and electoral organizing. She returned to Chicago in January with her partner. Unzueta came to Chicago from ...
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Forty years later, still a call for accurate HIV-positive representation
"I can look back at a show like Girlfriends and see how they dramatized living with HIV; how the character made a quick appearance and then died. For the time that it came out in the early 2000s, the reality of ...
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HIV at 40: Long-term AIDS survivor Sean Strub on diagnosis, being mayor, Larry Kramer
To say Sean Strub is a fighter is almost the supreme understatement. He was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the mid-1980s—when having the disease was almost certainly a death sentence. (Even the doctor who diagnosed him passed ...
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STILL HERE: Long-term HIV/AIDS survivors in Chicago reflect on their experiences
When the first reported U.S. cases of what later became known as HIV/AIDS were reported in June 1981, a number of physicians and researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and elsewhere sought to understand ...
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One-third of gay, bisexual men who take PrEP discontinue within three years
--From a press release
Familiarity and favorable attitudes towards PrEP have increased over time, though use remains low A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds a significant increase in familiarity with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) ...
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Advocates, legislators introduce bill to
decriminalize HIV in Illinois
--From a press release
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Legislation was introduced in Springfield this week to end criminal penalties against people living with HIV (PLWH), which serve only to stigmatize and discriminate against PLWH. Current Illinois law makes legal behavior — ...
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NATIONAL Black History Month, anti-trans bills, Penn. politician, HIV measure
In honor of Black History Month, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) announced its acquisition of the Ubuntu Biography Project, a press release noted. The Ubuntu Biography Project, created by Stephen A. Maglott, celebrates the legacies ...
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