7 Black Women HIV/AIDS Activists We Honor Today

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Today marks the 25^th National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It is a day meant to raise awareness for the fact that HIV/AIDS continues to take more Black lives than those of any other racial group. Because HIV/AIDS has devastated the Black community at such a higher rate than others, advocacy surrounding the virus has to be tenfold within the Black community.

A handful of bold and passionate individuals have dedicated their lives to fighting for equal access to HIV/AIDS information and healthcare for the Black community, as well as to fighting the stigma surrounding this virus. We as a society bring focused attention to HIV/AIDS today, but these incredible Black women dedicate their lives to it all year. Here are seven Black women HIV/AIDS activists we celebrate today.

Frances Ashe-Goins

Frances Ashe-Goins is most known for being the founder of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. She is a professor, a public health expert and a nurse who served as Acting Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. Ashe-Goins has spent much of her career urging the federal government to focus more on how HIV/AIDS impacts women.

Tiwa Savage

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Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress Tiwa Savage isn’t only a triple-threat creative talent but also a passionate HIV/AIDS activist. Savage starred in the MTV drama series Shuga, initially created with the Partnership for an HIV-FREE Generation (PEPFAR) and the Government of Kenya. Created to fight the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, this public broadcast series became an instant hit and went on to air on 88 television stations globally. Controversial for its time, the series addressed matters like maternal health, gender-based violence and female empowerment.

Hydeia Broadbent

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Hydeia Broadbent was one of the first babies born HIV-positive. Her parents abandoned her at birth, and she was adopted just weeks later. By age six, Broadbent was involved in HIV/AIDS activism. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and A Conversation with Magic Johnson” on Nickelodeon. Today, as an adult, Broadbent travels the country as a public speaker at HIV/AIDS advocacy events.

Susan Cole

Susan Cole is a broadcaster, writer and public speaker who is devoted to helping people of color impacted by HIV/AIDS. She produces the series aidsmapLIVE and aidsmapCHAT, in which she provides empowering information on resources and treatment to women around the world living with HIV/AIDS.

Kamaria Laffrey

Kamaria Laffrey discovered she was HIV positive after giving birth to her daughter. She’d just welcomed her baby girl into the world and was urgently told to go to her doctor’s office and to stop breastfeeding, due to something found in her bloodwork. Following that event, Laffrey dedicated her life to advocating for women living with HIV/AIDS. She is the Co-managing Director at The Sero Project, which is dedicated to fighting the stigmas surrounding the virus.

Katrina Haslip

Katrina Haslip is responsible for getting the CDC to recognize female-specific symptoms of HIV/AIDS. She was diagnosed with HIV while in prison and went on to co-found AIDS Counseling and Education (ACE), which helps other imprisoned women living with HIV/AIDS. Haslip is one of the most influential HIV/AIDS activists. She served as a defendant in a case against the federal government that ultimately resulted in the CDC changing its definition of the virus to include women’s symptoms, such as vaginal candidiasis and pelvic inflammatory disease.