The American LGBTQ+ Museum

EVENT DETAILS

Join historian and American LGBTQ+ Museum board member Kevin McGruder and community-organizer, activist, and policymaker Phill Wilson for a powerful conversation on Black gay men and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Drawing on decades of advocacy, scholarship, and lived experience, McGruder and Wilson will explore the vital work of organizations such as the Black AIDS Institute and Gay Men of African Descent, which have fought to center Black voices in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. Together, they will reflect on the historical and ongoing impact of the epidemic within Black communities, the intersections of race, sexuality, and health justice, and the enduring resilience and activism that continue to shape this movement.

FIGHTING BACK: QUEER ACTIVIST HISTORY

“Fighting Back: Queer Activist History” is a dynamic lecture series featuring a diverse roster of historians, activists, scholars, and organizers, offering unique insights into LGBTQ+ activism in the U.S. From Stonewall to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the critical work of lesser-known organizers, movement workers, and collectives, this series examines the challenges and triumphs that have shaped the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and traces the trajectory toward queer liberation.

DISCUSSANTS

Kevin McGruder is Associate Professor of History at Antioch College. He became a member of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), a New York City based health, education, and advocacy nonprofit organization in the 1980s, while working in the community development field focusing on affordable housing. He served as Executive Director of GMAD from 1997 to 2001, a time when the federal government for the first time was making funds available to community-based organizations for HIV prevention services.

As an academic, Kevin’s research interests include urban history focusing on racial residential patterns, African American institutions, and LGBTQ history. He has a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University, an M.B.A. in Real Estate Finance from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in U.S. History from City University of New York. He is author of “To Be Heard in Print: Black Gay Writers in 1980s New York (Obsidian III, Spring/Summer 2005), Race and Real Estate: Conflict and Cooperation in Harlem, 1890-1920 (2015) Philip Payton: The Father of Black Harlem (2021), and editor of Home at Last: The Collected Writings of AIDS Journalist LeRoy Whitfield (2022).

Phill Wilson is a multi-hyphenated community organizer, activist, and policy maker. He is an internationally renowned writer, public speaker, and key opinion leader. He was the founder of the Black AIDS Institute and its President and CEO from 1999 until his retirement in 2019. He was a special assistant to former Los Angeles City Tom Bradley and a former Los Angeles Citywide AIDS coordinator. He was a presidential appointee during the Clinton administration, and a member of President Obama’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). He has been involved in the founding of countless numbers of LGBTQ+, BPOC, and HIV/AIDS organizations over the last forty years including the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum, the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and the National Minority AIDS Council.

His work has been featured in Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Vibe Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the Advocate, Out magazine, BLK, POZ magazine, and various other publications. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs including CNN with Anderson Cooper, and Don Lemon Tonight, the Reid Out on MSNBC, The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, Dr. Oz, and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

ACCESSIBILITY

This program will be presented via Zoom with live captioning in English. We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. Please reach out with any questions, requests or needs to info@americanlgbtqmuseum.org.

PHOTO GRAPHIC

New York Public Library: Gay Men of African Descent members Rev. Charles Angel and Colin Robinson in New York City protesting the United States Surpreme Court decision in the case of Bowers vs. Hardwick that upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law.