World AIDS Day occurs annually on December 1. It is a worldwide opportunity to unite all of us in the fight to eliminate HIV, honor those we've lost, and show support for people living with HIV. For me, this day represents a time for reflection and action. This year I'm reflecting on how much the music of my childhood continues to impact me.
In observance of WORLD AIDS DAY, CNP joins in the global recognition of the lives lost to HIV/AIDS, the breakthrough scientific advancements, and the millions of people around the world who are living and thriving with HIV. At CNP, we believe great storytelling can change hearts and minds, which is why we incorporate HIV narratives into our work throughout the year. Today, we invite you to revisit these deeply personal stories of individuals and organizations working to end the HIV epidemic in America and beyond.
“That woman left her son.” I was haunted, and pleasantly surprised by those words from my mother. I’d emerged from a week of work doing technical production on a virtual presentation of the play “Before It Hits Home". CNP partnered with Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theater and Georgia Equality to produce this virtual screening in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2021. I seemed to be working non-stop in my home office, and decided that, on show day, I’d load the broadcast downstairs for my mother to watch. Unsure if she would, I gave her the offer, and to my surprise she did watch.
More than that though, I was struck by how this play resonated with her.
Today, December 1, 2020, is World AIDS Day. And as we reflect on the lives lost to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic, we also celebrate the resiliency of those living and thriving with HIV. Michael Ward, 34, is one of those individuals. In a year rife with devastating loss, global financial instability, food insecurity, mental health challenges, and a lack of national leadership in response to the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans were forced to navigate life in unfamiliar ways and with varying degrees of success. Ward, whose public profile increased in 2020 is no exception. As the host of CNPs “Revolutionary Health,” a weekly Facebook Live series focused on the health of Black queer men, and as co-creator of “Black, Gay, stuck at home,” a virtual film series centering Black LGBTQ stories and filmmakers, not only is Ward’s visibility increasing, but his vulnerability and willingness to speak about his experience of being a Black gay man living with HIV is as well.
