The mission of the Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC) is to end the HIV and STI epidemics in the South by promoting accessible and high-quality systems of [HIV and STI] prevention, treatment, care, housing, and essential support services.
When SAC started in 2001, the HIV epidemic in the South was largely ignored. In those early years, we were just a handful of extraordinary advocates working together to demand more resources to address the HIV and AIDS state of emergency in our states. We assembled a number of case studies and released the first-ever Southern States Manifesto in 2002. These case studies were presented nationwide, garnering national attention from the media, funders, and policymakers.
We then turned our attention to the Ryan White Program, determined to change the legislation to create more equitable funding for southern states. After three years of meetings, press conferences, and congressional hearings, H.R. 6143 was passed in 2006. The reauthorization included many significant changes including modifying the distribution formula from cumulative AIDS data to actual living HIV and AIDS cases, redirecting an approximate $30 million to the South.
Since this victory, SAC’s advocacy efforts around equitable and increased funding have continued laying the groundwork for the more recent announcement of the Care and Prevention in the United States (CAPUS) funding in 2012. This new funding initiative, dedicated to reducing HIV and AIDS related morbidity and mortality among racial and ethnic minorities living in the United States, was a result of the powerful, well-organized advocacy of SAC and our vital partners in the HIV-community, including the Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative (SASI), the 30 for 30 Campaign, the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), and many others.
Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #SHAAD
The HIV epidemic in the South is the result of a number of factors, including stigma, misinformed policies, discrimination, and a number of systemic inequities. While facing immense adversities, our community holds incredible strength and resilience–POWER. Collective and individual actions in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges go beyond ending the epidemic—but dismantling systemic injustices, challenging stigma, organizing through policy and advocacy, and connecting with our ancestral roots to truly emphasize the necessity of meeting our collective needs. When all of our needs are met—like housing stability, reproductive justice, racial/ gender/LGBTQ justice, and harm reduction policies—real progress is made. SHAAD is the time to recognize our impact! It reminds us that we are here, part of a national movement to celebrate the beauty of the South, to raise awareness, erase HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, and advocate for the new and necessary resources and solutions needed to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South. So, what does our power look like?
Power of Your Voice
The power of your voice lies in speaking truth to power, ensuring that the voices of those living with HIV and impacted by it are centered and amplified, and supporting the voices of those who are often muted due to systems of oppression. Together, we use our voices to create a movement and community response that ensures our needs are met, services are accessible, and stigma is eradicated. When we unite and speak out, we move closer to making the changes needed to end the HIV epidemic in the South.
Power of Your History
When reflecting on the history of HIV in the South, we must look to the South's deep history of justice movements and "good trouble". The history of HIV in the South has shown us the dangers of neglecting our region, there are also countless examples of Southerners rebelling against policies and cultural practices that cause harm and further stigmatize (and criminalize) those living with HIV. By reflecting on our past, we can see how far we've come and recognize the need to honor our movement foreparents, share our community stories, and learn from the lessons that unite us. Our history is a source of strength and a guide for our journey forward.
Power of Your Joy
Our joy is vibrant, resilient, and worth celebrating. It serves as a form of resistance, reminding us that the HIV movement is not only about pain and loss but also about the voices, knowledge, funding, and partnerships that have emerged. By centering joy, we keep our stories alive and find the strength to continue our work. It is also an opportunity to reclaim spirituality and faith as centering factors for many in our movement–not allowing belief systems to be co-opted by hatred and divisiveness.
Power of Your Dollar
To transform the South, we must invest in ourselves and our communities–and demand the investment of public and private resources that our communities deserve! Too often our communities are not invited to tables where funding decisions are made. We must recognize the power of our dollars and how we spend them, demand equity in pay structures, and advocate for our communities to be invested in and supported. Our dollars and influence are powerful—they represent the wealth that can drive change and make a lasting impact in our region. Power of Your Vote The power of the vote evokes what it truly means to put the power in the hands of the people! This Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day we urge everyone to harness the power of their vote through active engagement in the electoral process through conversations, mobilization, and a personal voting plan. Use your power to question violations of our voting rights–redistricting, stripping citizens of their voting rights, and tricky changes to voting requirements harken back to the times of grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and other historic legal barriers to the ballot box. The power of the vote is in our hands–and we refuse to surrender it!
#SHAAD #PowerToThePeople #SouthernJoy #CommunityStrength #CommunityAction
Saving Ourselves Symposium (SOS) 2024
About the Conference
The Saving Ourselves Symposium (SOS) is an annual conference designed to educate and empower the Black LGBTQ+ community in the South. In 2019, Southern AIDS Coalition became home to SOS. Established in 2013 by founder Marvell L. Terry II and the Red Door Foundation, SOS is a one-of-a-kind conference that provides first-hand information to individuals and organizations with an emphasis on HIV to the Black LGBTQ+ community.
About the 2024 Theme
Vibrance: The Kaleidoscope Effect speaks to the different experiences, approaches, voices, and diverse beauty of our communities to create the freedom and liberation we seek. The conference will celebrate the vibrancy of individual and collective strength, and how that manifests through advocacy, artistic expression, and more. SOS 2024 will amplify the resonance of sound the community creates when we come together in unity and strength.
Learn more on the conference website: sosexperience.org
