NAESM 2015 Sets Forth Social Justice Agenda

Ayana Elliott, Michael David Battle and Valerie Spencer at the workshop panel "Engaging Black Transgender Communities in Biomedical HIV Prevention" at the 2015 National African American MSM Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS and other Health Disparities. The workshop was presented by the Microbicide Trials Network.

The National AIDS & Education Services for Minorities (NAESM) held its 13th annual gathering, NAESM 2015, Jan. 15-18, 2015, in Atlanta. The NAESM Leadership Conference is the only national conference planned by Black gay men to highlight emerging social, political, structural and behavioral trends that impact Black communities. Health educators, advocates, policymakers, researchers and PLWHA come together to spotlight the need to improve Black gay men's health, including preventing HIV.

 This year's theme, "Leading the Movement: Pursuing Health Equity Through Social Justice," addressed the social impediments affecting Black people's ability to access housing, employment, education, public safety and health care.

"For years in the health world, there has been a bit of a divide between those who are primarily focused on medical care and those who are focused on public health and social justice," says acting Executive Director Amistad St. Arromand. "Both medical care and social justice interventions are critical to Black gay men, and advocates for both should be on the same team, given a shared interest in keeping people healthy."

The conference's five topical tracks—MSM health disparities; determinants of health; religion, faith and spirituality; organizational development; and areas of special interest, such as marketing strategies—and its more than 40 abstracts and poster presentations addressed the public policy, public health and social justice issues impacting Black gay men's lives. The Black AIDS Institute's mobilization manager, Anthony Gutierrez, and mobilization coordinator, Jeffery Williams, made presentations about the Knowledge, Attitude, Beliefs (KAB) HIV Workforce Survey, which tested the level of HIV knowledge among nonmedical HIV/AIDS professionals.

The KAB Survey's findings will be introduced Feb. 6, on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2015. NAESM 2015's planning committee and participating sponsors included ViiV Healthcare, Edge Media Network, the HIV Prevention Trials Network, Gilead Sciences and the Black Gay Research Group. NAESM and its partners are determined to make an ongoing difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Black gay communities.

Gerald Garth is a Los Angeles-based writer and actor who works for the Black AIDS Institute.