Commitment to Equity

Board of Directors Statement (June 18, 2020)

WHEREAS: The Black Lives Matter movement has arisen in response to historical injustice and institutional inequities that face Black Americans;

WHEREAS: Our nation, in mourning deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others whose lives have been taken, has sparked protests on a global scale, with protesters demanding an end to the historical inequities that Black Americans have faced and continue to face;

WHEREAS: HIV Alliance was founded in 1994 with a mission to support people living with HIV/AIDS and prevent new infections;

WHEREAS: Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS;

WHEREAS: Critical to the mission of HIV Alliance is the importance of providing service to community in a manner that each person impacted by HIV/AIDS is treated with dignity and respect;

NOW THEREFORE: The Board of Directors for HIV Alliance has taken note of the Black Lives Matter movement and desires to express its support for the Black Lives Matter movement as being in concert with the aims and purposes of the HIV Alliance mission.

NOW BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The HIV Alliance Board of Directors hereby adopts the following statement for publication as the statement of HIV Alliance supporting the Black Lives Matter movement:

This June’s Pride Month marks 51 years since a police raid on the Stonewall Inn erupted into protests for LGBTQ+ rights. We owe trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who led the protests, for the movement sparked that day. LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) continue to lead the way in advocating for justice and equity despite severe and deadly adversity. BIPOC, and especially Black trans people of color, experience violence on an unprecedented scale and are impacted by serious health disparities including disproportionately high rates of HIV.

In light of Pride Month and the renewed call to action to end white supremacy and systemic violence against Black communities following the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others whose lives have been taken, the Board of Directors for HIV Alliance is reaffirming its commitment to addressing health disparities for BIPOC communities. We acknowledge the fundamental and devastating role of systemic racism in creating these disparities and we pledge to work to undo not only the impacts of racism, but to be a part of solutions that reach the issue at its core. We emphatically affirm, “Black Lives Matter.”

The Board of Directors for HIV Alliance is committed to antiracism and social justice, and fully supports those in Oregon and across the country and world working to lift up Black communities. We are committed to working actively with our BIPOC community partners toward these goals, as well as doing more as an organization to actively work toward creating an equitable health care system that competently serves BIPOC.