Understanding the State of Black Women and HIV in the United States

June 4, 2024

Understanding the connections between Black women and HIV remains important today. Despite advances in treatment and medications, continued conversations and education are still needed as Black women continue to face significant disparities in HIV diagnoses and outcomes in the United States.

According to the CDC, in 2023 19% of those diagnosed with HIV were female. A closer look at the statistics shows a different picture for Black women. They accounted for 50% of HIV diagnoses, but are only 13% of the female U.S. population. They also had [read more]

Could PrEP be the key to Reducing Your HIV Exposure?

September 23, 2025

If you’ve ever wondered if there is another way to protect yourself from contracting HIV besides condoms, there is an option.  PrEP, or Pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a preventive treatment for individuals at high risk of HIV infection, and it’s an option worth exploring. 

Your first question is probably does it work? When PrEP medication is taken consistently, it can not only reduce the risk of contracting HIV from sexual exposure by about 99%, but it can also decrease the likelihood of contracting HIV by [read more]

Understanding the State of Black Women and HIV in the United States

September 11, 2025

Understanding the connections between Black women and HIV remains important today. Despite advances in treatment and medications, continued conversations and education are still needed as Black women continue to face significant disparities in HIV diagnoses and outcomes in the United States.

According to the CDC, in 2023 19% of those diagnosed with HIV were female. A closer look at the statistics shows a different picture for Black women. They accounted for 50% of HIV diagnoses, but are only 13% of the [read more]

When A Relationship Ends…Questions and Worries Begin

By Tia Camille

I grew up in the 1970s, and my world was surrounded by images, stories, movies, television shows and real-life married women. For me, and most children of that time, the way of the world trained us to think marriage was the pinnacle point of love. Without it, you’d question whether you really ever found it.

The problem? No one ever really talked about the part when marriages don’t work like mine. Facing the final proceedings in my divorce in a few weeks means this relationship that lasted more than [read more]

Trust or Mistrust: Sickle Cell Warriors Unraveling Medical Mistrust

Temitope Creppy

Joanne Adelberg, MS

September 1, 2024

Sickle cell disease primarily affects about 100,000 Americans, and greater than 7 million people worldwide.  Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of genetic disorders that affect red blood cells, causing them to become shaped like crescents or sickles. The sickle-shaped cells can travel through the bloodstream, getting stuck and cutting off blood flow, leading to intense pain and organ damage. Patients with SCD may experience chronic pain and have learned to manage frequent acute pain crises, leading [read more]

Internalized Stigma & the Environment: Reflections from a Photo Narrative Project

Authors/Contributors: Internalized Stigma Interest Group

May 1, 2024

The Internalized Stigma Interest Group, of the Howard University annual International Conference on Stigma, is a network of people interested in promoting the awareness and reduction of internalized stigmatization of all types of oppression, especially related to stigmatized health conditions such as HIV, mental health challenges, sickle cell, and substance use challenges. We are activists and academics, people with lived experience, researchers, program workers, clinicians, students, and many other things – sometimes within a single individual! Everyone is [read more]

Silent No More: The Perspective of Heterosexual Men Living with HIV

By  Temitope Creppy, Senior, Howard University

January 1, 2024

“I was refused treatment because I refused to say I was homosexual.” These are the words of a 50-year-old African-American man diagnosed with HIV who was wrongly discriminated against and denied medical treatment due to stigma that persists in the healthcare environment. Healthcare professionals doubted his relationship with his wife, and people in his daily life still consider him homosexual because he lives with HIV. Unfortunately, across the country this is the reality of [read more]