#StopErasingBlackPeople: Protest as Prevention

• In Event: HIV and AIDS in the States of Emergence: The Ongoing Crisis as a Condition of Possibility

Abstract

Whether through structural erasure by the relegation of Black organizers to low level staff positions in HIV care and prevention organizations, historical erasure through the whitewashing of the US HIV/AIDS crisis, or spacial erasure through redlining, gentrification, and colonization of Black communities; whitewashing and erasure are integrally linked to the continued HIV/AIDS crisis and its disproportionate impact on Black communities.

#StopErasingBlackPeople is a call to action connecting artists, archivers, and community organizers to dismantle the whitewashing of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its intersecting movements. #StopErasingBlackPeople mobilizes communities to challenge these interwoven forms of erasure, leveraging social media as a platform for intersectional dialogue and intergenerational collaboration in the fight for strategic care and prevention services.

This presentation provides practical tools for leveraging social media and direct action to affect public narratives and structural change, sharing tactics used and lessons learned in the Art AIDS America protest while addressing history itself as an essential frontline in the continued fight for equitable healthcare access. As a call to action, this presentation will also inform participants on how to take part in the #StopErasingBlackPeople campaign and assess their work as well as the work of their organizations.

Author

• Jaleesa Trapp, Tacoma Collective Action