August 12, 2024 – POZ.
by Alicia Green
Ci Ci Covin and Masonia Traylor share their story of friendship and fighting for their health.
World AIDS Day 2023 was very special for best friends Ciarra "Ci Ci" Covin and Masonia Traylor. That was the day the film Unexpected premiered, introducing these two exceptional women living with HIV to the world. The 22-minute documentary about Black women living with HIV in the South was produced by Emmy-winning actress and advocate Sheryl Lee Ralph.
"It's indescribable how full you can feel from another woman living with HIV saying she finally felt seen," says Traylor, 37, of Atlanta. "Whether she was a longtime survivor or newly diagnosed, she felt empowered by the conversation we had within that documentary."
The film gives viewers a glimpse into Traylor's and Covin's lives as mothers, advocates and women living with HIV. The friends are shown preparing and delivering care packages to women living in rural Georgia who have been newly diagnosed with HIV as well as supporting one another.
"It's a true display of our friendship, the work we do and the people that we get to help," says 36-year-old Covin of Philadelphia. But there is much more to their stories. Continue reading on POZ...
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