September 7, 2021: Black leaders from nine HIV organizations across the U.S., including PWN, held a virtual, private meeting August 25 with artist Jonathan “DaBaby” Kirk to discuss HIV facts and share personal stories of living and thriving with HIV.

The leaders called for a meeting with the artist in an open letter on August 4 to which DaBaby affirmatively responded.

“PWN felt it was important to be a part of this conversation to make sure that we put a face on women living with HIV and to elevate our voices,” said PWN Co-Executive Director Venita Ray. “We reminded Jonathan that the lives of women living with HIV are already difficult because of widespread stigma, and that comments like his makes it harder for us to parent, work, and serve our communities. We want to work with him so that he can use his platform to reduce, rather than perpetuate or exacerbate, stigma.”

“In this era of digital communication, it is imperative that we try to have meaningful dialogue with people who have a large influence over the masses,” added Marnina Miller, a PWN board member who participated in the meeting in her capacity as community outreach coordinator for Southern AIDS Coalition. “Our conversation with DaBaby was an example of this. During our intergenerational chat with the rapper, he stated that he wanted to be a ‘sponge’ and a listening ear. From his responses, we could tell that he was actively engaged and remorseful for his previous disparaging comments about people living with HIV and the LGBTQ+ community. If he holds true to his word, this could be the beginning of a powerful alliance between the hip-hop community and HIV activists.”

The meeting included representatives from Black AIDS Institute, Gilead Sciences COMPASS Initiative Coordinating Centers, GLAAD, National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), The Normal Anomaly Initiative, Positive Women’s Network-USA, Prevention Access Campaign (U=U), the Southern AIDS Coalition, and Transinclusive Group, as well as a faith and HIV advisor, discussed HIV history and education and the groups’ work in Black, LGBTQ and faith communities.

A joint statement from the organizations can be found here.

The meeting was also covered by USAToday–check it out here.