Our Vision
We envision a healthcare system that is accessible, responsive, culturally affirmative, centered in social justice and health equity, where the lessons of HIV and chronic care are fully integrated into patient- and community-centered models. A system where providers have access to the most relevant, current and accurate information and the skills to implement change that meet the needs of their patient populations.
Our Mission
Our goal is to provide capacity building services that support local priorities to improve systems of care.
Our Core Values
Interdisciplinary;
Community-engaged;
Culturally affirmative;
Aligned with regional efforts;
Centered in social justice.
THE Collaborative Timeline
Our work in social justice is grounded in the collective history of our communities and all who have come before us. We honor the struggles, the advocacy, the strengths, the resilience and the progress they left for us to build upon.
"The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, but it Bends Toward Justice"
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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14001799
1400-1799 - 1400-1799
The first European colonizers arrived in what is now known as the United States. Colonizers brought old world diseases not previously present in the Americas and began the institutionalization of slavery of Africans and Indigenous people.
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18001899
1800-1899 - 1800-1899
Indigenous people continue to be massacred as the U.S. government seizes land and expands control of more territory. The U.S. continues to import people from African and Asian countries as slaves and laborers. Although the Emancipation Proclamation later passed in 1863, this era is marked by much U.S. legislation that further institutionalizes the dehumanization of all non-white people as property.
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19001949
1900-1949 - 1900-1949
Racial oppression escalates across the U.S., notable marked by the “Black Wall Street” Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and later the Executive Order 9066 of 1942, forcing 120,000 Japanese Americans into Internment Camps. Activism also heightens during this decade in response to ongoing violence, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is formed in New York City in 1909. The Harlem Renaissance, a blossoming movement of African American intellectual, cultural, and artistic activity begins around 1920. In a step forward, Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the U.S. are granted citizenship through the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.
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19501959
1950-1959 - 1950-1959
Despite some legislative effort towards racial and social progress, including the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, people of color still face institutional segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the U.S. The civil rights movement begins, kickstarted by Rosa Parks in the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. This decade is also marked by Christine Jorgenson, the first American to come forward publicly about being transgender and Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization formed in San Francisco. A man residing in the Congo dies of an illness in 1959, later confirmed to be the first case of HIV.
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19601969
1960-1969 - 1960-1969
The U.S. civil rights movement gains momentum, marked by the historic 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. U.S. Congress enacts two landmark legislations, The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. In addition, the first gay rights demonstration takes place in NYC, protesting discrimination in the military. In the background, more people become symptomatic and die from mysterious diseases we now know were opportunistic infections caused by HIV/AIDS.
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19701979
1970-1979 - 1970-1979
Civil and gay rights movements continue to break new ground in this era, beginning with the first gay rights march held in NYC. Activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera co-found the first activist organization for transgender people, and Harvey Milk becomes the first openly gay person to be elected to public office. Negro History Week becomes Black History Month, and Asian-Pacific Heritage Week is proclaimed. A recent 2016 genetic study reveals the HIV virus enters the U.S. population around 1970, 10 years before it was discovered by medical scientists.
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19801989
1980-1989 - 1980-1989
HIV reaches public attention in this decade. The disease, first noticed in gay men, galvanized a community response and activism due to the inattention and inaction of the U.S. government to GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency as AIDS was initially named). Groups like ACT UP forced government to engage with community and together with Community-Based Organizations and AIDS Service Organizations, helped leave a lasting imprint on the healthcare landscape. Sadly, HIV stigma and discrimination also entered our collective consciousness, through high-profile cases like a teenager with AIDS named Ryan White, who was barred from attending school in Indiana. The WHO declares December 1st World AIDS Day in 1988.
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19901999
1990-1999 - 1990-1999
This decade continues to challenge the stigma around HIV and misconceptions about how it is spread and who can contract it. Ryan White passes away at age 18 in 1990 and the Ryan White Care Act is enacted. Notable figures such as athletes Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis announce they are living with HIV, and the first HIV Positive Woman is featured on the cover of Essense Magazine. In 1992, the CDC revises AIDS to be more inclusive of women and IDUs. By 1993, HIV becomes the leading cause of death for young black men and women. HAART (highly active antiviral therapy) is introduced to treat HIV in 1996, which drastically reduces the morbidity and mortality of those living with HIV and offers hope for living “normal” lifespans. The Minority AIDS Initiative is created in response to growing concern about the impact of HIV on racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. In 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is founded and the first National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day held.
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20002009
2000-2009 - 2000-2009
The turn of the millennium brought numerous strides, specifically for women, people of color, the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and substance use destigmatization. More resources are mobilized to address the HIV epidemic globally and to build awareness to HIV health disparities locally. These resources led to the development of vital HIV screening tools, educational campaigns, and numerous Awareness Days.
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20102020
2010-2020 - 2010-2020
This decade is characterized by a volley of civil rights progress and setbacks, signifying the persistence of deep clashes in American society. LGBTQIA2S+ people’s liberties become increasingly protected while the Black Lives Matter movement forms in response to anti-Black incidents nationwide. Conversely, several breakthroughs in HIV research, interventions, and strategy bring new energy to the movement, specifically Truvada as PrEP and U=U.
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2020Present
2020-Present - 2020-Present
The gains made during these past decades were overshadowed by a global coronavirus pandemic and calls for social and racial justice. Even in these difficult times, however, the HIV community moved forward with renewed strategies, biomedical innovations, and recognition that health equity needs to be in a priority in any path forward to ending the HIV epidemic. Much of the COVID response relied on the lessons learned from the response to the HIV epidemic.
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PresentFuture
Present-Future - The Future
We look forward optimistically towards the end of the HIV epidemic and other conditions that have been impacted by social determinants of health. We are hopeful for systemic and societal changes that support healthy communities.
