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As Black people continue to contract HIV at disproportionate rates, it's clear that the public health policies of their elected officials are failing them. But that doesn't mean they're facing the pandemic alone.
According to the most recent data from the CDC, over 39,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. in 2023. Black people accounted for 14,754 of these cases (38 percent), and had the highest rate of infection of any community (41.9 per 100,000).
Over 66 percent of all HIV diagnoses were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact (MMSC). Of those attributed to MMSC, Black men accounted for nearly half (47 percent) of diagnoses among males ages 13 to 24.
Black women accounted for half (50 percent) of HIV diagnoses among females, despite accounting for 13 percent of the female population. They had the highest HIV diagnosis rate of all women at (19.6 per 100,000), which was three times the rate among Hispanic or Latino women (6.7) and 11 times the rate among white women (1.8).
Regardless of your gender and status, assistance is available. Here are some local and national organizations dedicated to fighting HIV in the Black community, and the resources they provide.
Black AIDs Institute
The Black AIDS Institute (BAI), founded in 1999 and based in Los Angeles, California, is dedicated to ending the HIV epidemic in the Black community. It is the "only uniquely and unapologetically Black HIV think and do tank in America," according to its website, focusing on political and community outreach.
Related: How the Black AIDS Institute continues to fill in the gaps
Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition
The Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC) is an affinity group of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that focuses on outreach and education to the Black American community. Its coalition of influencers and advocates seek to elevate sexual health education by "bringing greater awareness to the social justice issues disproportionately impacting the health and wellness of Black Americans."
Black Women's Health Imperative
The Black Women's Health Imperative, founded as the National Black Women's Health Project in 1983 Atlanta, Georgia, is the first nonprofit organization created by Black women and dedicated to Black women. It engages in educational and political outreach to "protect and advance the health" of Black women whether they're cisgender or transgender.
BlaqOut
BlaqOut, founded in 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri, is dedicated to improving healthcare access and wellness outcomes "for the most marginalized." The nonprofit helps to provide access to HIV and STI testing, PrEP medication, and HIV primary care through its two clinics and via telehealth.
The Center for Black Health & Equity
The Center for Black Health & Equity is a national nonprofit organization that provides public health programs and services to communities and people of African descent. It advocates for policy and social change in tobacco control, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, women’s health, cancer, mental health, and beyond.
The Counter Narrative
The Counter Narrative, founded as Counter Narrative Project in 2014, is a nonprofit dedicated to Black gay and queer men. It focuses on ending the stigma surrounding men who have sex with men, offering training on how to cover the Black LGBTQ+ community in journalism, filmmaking, writing, and more.
H.Y.P.E. to Empower
H.Y.P.E. to Empower is an HIV health education service provider and youth development program based in Atlanta, Georgia. It provides HIV services that directly address the stigma, trauma, economic marginalization, and health care bias to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and low-income communities.
NAESM
NAESM provides assistance from licensed behavioral health professionals to HIV positive individuals as well as Black gay and bisexual men regardless of their HIV status. It also engages in outreach and education to address the disproportionate health and wellness issues facing the community in Georgia and across the U.S.
National Black Justice Coalition
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), based in Washington D.C., is a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Black LGBTQ+ community, with a focus on people living with HIV. Its work includes coalition building, federal policy change, research, and education.
SisterLove
SisterLove in Atlanta, Georgia is the oldest reproductive justice nonprofit in the Southeast, offering free HIV testing, pregnancy testing, and STI screenings. It also engages in reproductive health education, reproductive justice advocacy, community-based public health research, and international activism through its location in Johannasburg, South Africa.
United We Rise
United We Rise is an intersectional nonprofit dedicated to finding a "pathway to the end of the HIV epidemic, while uplifting the health of all Black people." It promotes policies that destigmatize and decriminalize, while performing community outreach to educate and mobilize.
Us Helping Us, People Into Living
Founded in 1985, Us Helping Us is fighting HIV in the Black community through community education, case management, interventions, and training. Its clinic in Washington, D.C. offers free rapid STI and HIV tests.
The Well Project
The Well Project is a nonprofit dedicated to ending the HIV pandemic through prevention, treatment, research, and policy. The organization specially focuses on women and girls across the gender spectrum, with its work centering Black women, Latinas, and other women of color living with HIV.
