Posts of: NMAC

Relentless. Innovative. Effective. Passionate. Caring. Visionary. Focused.

These are just a few words that instantly come to mind when thinking about the one Doctor I. Ronald Simmons, a committed strong Black gay man who changed our world not by singular leadership but by inspiring us into collective action and taking responsibility for one other’s wellbeing. Dr. Simmons dedicated his life to ensuring the Black LGBTQ+ community saw its own value and celebrated all the beauty it held. He made sure that Black gay men understood their power and how to channel that power into improved behavioral health which would be the key to our survival against all odds including HIV.

When Ron transitioned last week, we lost one of our greatest heroes ever to lead the HIV movement. He made an indelible mark. As an educator, he taught us about the historical legacy of African LGBTQ+ people as integral leaders within their communities. As an advocate, Dr. Simmons reminded us to view the world with our whole selves by not solely focusing on Black-only or LGBTQ-only issues. As a leader, Ron encouraged us to find a way to support each other against all odds.

As a famed member of the Black gay movement, Ron led by example by unapologetically uplifting the Black gay male experience. He would never tolerate nor was he ever drawn to the White Boys-Only Club of the Gay movement nor the heterosexist-leaning Black Liberation movement. He, therefore, brought his energy and talents to invest in the lives of Black gays and lesbians. Dr. Simmons refused to allow HIV to erase the legacies of LGBTQ+ Americans of the African Diaspora. Our society works overtime to silence Black gay men and not recognize our outsized contribution to the American experience. Naturally, Ron came to eventually lead the storied Black gay AIDS organization based in Washington, D.C. known as Us Helping Us or UHU.

UHU had one purpose: to give Black gay men hope to survive and ultimately thrive by overcoming health challenges, e.g., HIV, through a vision of inclusiveness. His leadership helped people improve their health outcomes. Ron legacy has not only enhanced the lives of individuals impacted by HIV, but entire organizations with the goal of reducing the impact of HIV. To be clear, the Black gay men at NMAC honor the road that he cleared for us to support our community. Charles Shazor, Jr. is a shining example. He shared, “Ron led by example displaying how to effectively create, demand, and implement structural change to positively impact the lives of gay Black men living with HIV…coming from a background of substance use and sex work, he allowed me to get my career started working in HIV leadership.”

As Black gay men, opportunities for growth are limited. Addressing the constant barrage of racism and homophobia can be overwhelming. There are too few people like Ron in this world. NMAC’s Anthony Anderson opined, “I met Ron while searching for my identity as a youth living with HIV and as a new member of the Black DC gay community. He educated me on his experiences living and working during the AIDS epidemic and sewed into my life in ways he will never know.” Our Terrell Parker concurred: Dr. Simmons took any opportunity to pour into you or enlighten you. He was not a man who was afraid to challenge you. His challenges were meant to help you grow, to expand your mind, to be a better servant in this work.”

Thanks in large part to Dr. Ron Simmons, our collective movement has become the gold standard for so many other initiatives for one reason and one reason alone: our movement harnesses the collective work of not just those of us here today, but also those who have come before us. Anthony concluded with a message for all of us who knew and loved Ron. “While we are all deeply saddened, his legacy is a reminder of all the work that has been done and the work that still needs to be done. Ron left us a vision and it is going to take all of us to make it come alive. That is the best way to memorialize a man like Ronald Simmons.”

–UJIMA—

Ace Robinson, MHL, MPH
NMAC

BREATHE | JOG | WALK | SHOP | DRIVE | STUDY | SLEEP | FIGHT | KNEEL

The list goes on…

It’s 2am. Another Black family has been torn apart. Another Black person must go and identify the body of someone that they love. Another Black child has tears falling uncontrollably to the ground. Another Black man sits in the corner too unnerved to move.

Twelve hours earlier. That same Black family is still whole. That same Black person is hugging on the person that they love. That same Black child was laughing and giggling. The same Black man sits in the corner too unnerved to move.

This is America. Black children are being taught to prepare for a covert war that they have no desire to wage. Black children are being taught that their schools are not as good. Black children are being taught that they must be thrice as good to have half as much. Black children are love.

My country. Black women have been overlooked. Black women have been left to pick up the pieces of fragmented families. Black women must work 19 months to be paid what the average White man makes annually. Black women are magic.

‘Tis of Thee. Black men have been beaten. Black men have been tortured. Black men must accommodate and smile in the face of the exact people who do not care if they survive. Black men must navigate constant threats to their existence since they are constantly seen as a threat. Black men are beautiful.

If you are reading this newsletter, you are directly impacted by HIV. You care deeply about doing whatever it takes to see an end to this epidemic. You came to this life’s work from a different origin, reasoning, and skill set from the person next to you. In this field, you learned that every voice is valued. You learned that all of us matter in decision-making. And you also learned that not all people and communities are equally impacted.

Black people make up nearly half of the PLHIV community. And we make up over half of the HIV-related deaths. We know that this reality did not happen by chance. It happened by design. HIV is today and has always been an opportunistic disease. It has always found a way to harm the communities with the smallest voices and the least resources.

HIV knows how to find the people who are most hungry. HIV can sniff out those who are least stably housed. HIV can track those people who barely have access to jobs and healthcare. And clearly, HIV has a predator’s eye on those people who are most abused.

People who look like, love like, and live like #GeorgeFloyd, #NinaPop, #AhmaudArbery, #BreonnaTaylor, #TonyMcDade, #SandraBland, #LaquanMcDonald, #EricGarner, #MyaHall, #LaquanMcDonald, #You, and #Me are first on HIV’s predatory list. What have we learned in the nearly 40 years of struggling against HIV? Our legacies of love will live on. Our families will fight for all that we were meant to be.

Although Black people have a paucity of access to healthcare education, healthcare services, and culturally responsive care, we must overcome the steepest hills to live long and healthy lives. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again raised the alarm outside of our communities to our unmet and actively precluded needs. COVID-19 in the USA is a clear case of the haves and the have nots.

Life-saving information and needed access to care came late and hardly at all to the Black community. And the spokespersons who brought those messages do not look like nor live in the communities most burdened.

At NMAC, we Lead with Race. We know first-hand what happens when entire populations are overlooked. They must advocate, organize, beg, plead, and take action to demand access to the inalienable right of life. And in far too many cases, that does not happen then they are blamed and demonized.

For the past week, many parts of America have literally burned to the ground due to the inaction of our leaders to support people most in-need. That is not acceptable. Just as we demand more from each other, we must demand more from them. There will be no justice as long as it is just us.

One day, each and every one of us who reads this will be gone. We will be the ancestors. Our question is: Will people pay homage to the work that we did to ensure that those of greatest need had all that was available to thrive? Or will we be the example of the what not to do to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice.

It’s our choice. I hope we choose life.

Onward. Together.

#BlackLivesMatter

Ace Robinson
Director of Strategic Partnerships

– By Paul Kawata

Like many people in our movement, I had a love/hate relationship with Larry. I loved him and he hated me. To me, it was a badge of honor that Larry hated me because it was his seminal piece in the New York Native that changed the course of my life.

If this article doesn’t scare the shit out of you, we’re in real trouble. If this article doesn’t rouse you to anger, fury, rage, and action, gay men may have no future on this earth. Our continued existence depends on just how angry you can get.
— Larry Kramer, New York Native Issue 59, March 14-27, 1983

Larry’s calls to arms got me to Richard Dunne the then executive director of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Richard brought me to Washington where I have lived and fought against AIDS for the last 35-plus years.

Larry Takes Over NMAC’s First Sit Down Dinner
In 1993, NMAC held its first sit-down dinner/fundraiser in the Library of Congress called Our Place at The Table. It was a glamorous affair by NMAC’s standards. We honored the new Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and celebrated the election of President Bill Clinton. There were waiters who passed hors d’oeuvres and a three course sit down dinner that would end with a speech by the new Secretary. About a week before the dinner I get a call from Larry who is screaming “how dare we honor Shalala. She has done nothing to help our community.”

To be honest, it was both exciting and scary to get a call from Larry. Here was the man who changed the course of my life telling me to un-invite the Secretary. At the time, I did not believe he would come to DC to take over the dinner. Little did I know…

Not only would Larry attend and shout down the Secretary, but she would not speak to me for the next two years! People wonder why I am so open to protests at USCHA. It’s because of Larry. We both understood the important roles we had to play in the drama to end the epidemic. Larry’s job was to make politicians uncomfortable, and my job was to negotiate in the aftermath.

Larry Gets Cut from Opening Plenary of the United States Conference on AIDS
In 2018, Larry was going to keynote the Opening Plenary at USCA in Orlando. Unfortunately, his health was failing. As a result, he said he would send a video message. Two days before the conference was to start, I get this 60-minute video from him. The plenary was already too long, so I decided to play the first 20 minutes.

When I tell Larry, I get a two-word email back from him “fuck you.” What do you do when your hero sends you a two-word message? I apologized and played the entire video at the closing plenary.

Like so many heroes, I’m not sure if I loved the man or the mythology of him. All I know is that his writings changed the course of my life. I was going to be a dentist. Instead I became an AIDS activist. Larry taught me that no one was going to give you power; you had to take it. I’ve spent the rest of my life taking back power, particularly power from the white straight men of Congress.