NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK: “HIV is My Reality, This is My Story”World AIDS Day Photographic & Written Word Art Exhibit (Sponsored By GMAD)Thurs, Dec. 3rd, 2009, 4-6:30PM

QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson

"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil

"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

“HIV is My Reality, This is My Story”
World AIDS Day Photographic & Written Word Art Exhibit (Sponsored By GMAD)
Thurs, Dec. 3rd, 2009, 4-6:30PM

Gay Men of African Descent, Inc. launches
“HIV is My Reality, This is My Story”
World AIDS day photographic and written word art exhibit

“Too often HIV is presented as a bar chart, a timeline or a dense paragraph of statistics and predictions,” announced GMAD Executive Director Tokes M. Osubu. “The goal of this project is to put human faces and individual stories on a frequently misunderstood diagnosis.”

These thirteen black & white portraits, by renowned photographer John Labbe, will be displayed alongside the stories the subjects tell of their diagnosis. Their stories of trials and triumphs range from the heartwarming to heartbreaking, but they are all compelling and all very human.

*HIV is My Reality, This is My Story* is co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Community Pride Center. Tom Smith, President of their Board of Directors stated that “the faces of people with AIDS in Brooklyn reflect every nationality, culture and gender identity throughout the world. Keeping our children and elders safe from the threat of AIDS and insuring that those
with AIDS in our community receive the highest levels of compassionate care is one of Brooklyn Community Pride Center's top priorities."

The exhibit, which will include an opportunity to meet with some of the models, will be on display in Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, at 209 Joralemon Street on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 from 4:00pm to 6:30pm.

Gay Men of African Descent, Inc. a 501(c)3 not-for-profit agency, is the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to the well-being of black, gay men and will celebrate its 24th anniversary in 2010.

www.GMAD.org