World AIDS Day: How art and advocacy reclaimed my life, transforming my HIV journey

An unsettling feeling washed over me the day I realized my HIV diagnosis might not be what kills me.

That epiphany came in Spring 2023 as I was performing a scene in the play one in two by Donja R. Love. During the scene, the character I played, Donté, is being proposed to by The Man of His Dreams moments after surviving a suicide attempt. Donté is skeptical that society will allow two Black gay men to marry. The Man of His Dreams assures Donté that we can be whoever we want to be while living with HIV – with Donté eventually agreeing to the proposal.

After my performance that night, I thought to myself, “What the f-word do I do with this revelation?” By the time

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