Community

Honor Women Who Are on the Front Lines of the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Published

10 years ago

March 7, 2015

This month is Women’s History Month and a perfect time to salute and celebrate the unsung heroes, women who work hard in the community battling HIV/AIDS.

<p><p>Being known as the AIDS lady doesn’t faze Monica Shepard. With over 25 years of experience, this work has become her passion and a labor of love. She says she hears, “There’s the AIDS Lady”, all the time by clients in the supermarket or just walking down the street with her son.

Shepard’s HIV career started in 1984 as a phlebotomist in San Francisco’s Castro district, before universal precaution was the rule, and fear was at its peak. She was one of the many medical warriors drawing blood and assisting the many young men suffering and dying.

She said in those days, people who did the work had to place compassion over fear.

“I stand on the shoulders of my grandmother, who raised me,” says Shepard. “I saw her work in Tuberculosis’ Camps in the early 60s in St. Louis, Mo., and watched as she ignored the stigma off others who had fear and ignorance of the disease, which at the time, had no vaccine.”

Shepard says it was her grandmother, who talked her through her personal fears of HIV.

In 2000, Shepard’s focus shifted from the medical field of HIV to providing social service and education in Contra Costa County. There, she witnessed the changing faces of HIV, from white gay males to women and women of color. She saw how HIV affected children: shame, mental illness, violence and substance abuse entered her equation.

In 2003 while working at Napa Solano Health Project, she rebuilt the program there to meet the needs of the affected community. She initiated an open pantry, a Food Bank, where clients could come to obtain foods. The secondary space became a safe place to be HIV positive in Solano County.

Clients used the food bank to exchange information, network and discuss the medical and social issues that plagued them. The Solano AIDS Coalition – a client advocacy group – was formed from the gathering.

Currently employed at Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific, she is the HIV/AIDS Program Director of Solano County, helping HIV positive residents obtain basic needs like Housing and social services.

She spearheaded Taste, Talk & Teach (TTT), a client-centered luncheon for positive people and their partners. The TTT is held every quarter. Clients are treated to a free lunch and special guest speakers are invited to this two-hour meeting that is often standing-room only.

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The day is a nationwide observance that sheds light on the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. Join with the Bay Area Positive Women’s Network – USA chapter for a free community forum on HIV disclosure & transmission laws and a lively discussion about upholding the human rights and dignity of people living with HIV.

The event will be held Tuesday March 10, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Office of AIDS Administration, 1000 Broadway Suite 310, in Oakland. Lunch will be provided.

For information and to RSVP, call Cynthia (at 415) 317-1568.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

City Considering New Department to Address Racial Inequality

Don't Miss

Why Is Milwaukee So Bad For Black People?

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

Published

5 days ago

May 30, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Black Feminist Movement Mobilizes in Response to National Threats

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States.

Published

5 days ago

May 30, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States. The event, led by the organization Black Feminist Future, is headlined by activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis. Paris Hatcher, executive director of Black Feminist Future, joined Black Press USA’s Let It Be Known to outline the mission and urgency behind the gathering, titled “Get Free.” “This is not just a conference to dress up and have a good time,” Hatcher said. “We’re building power to address the conditions that are putting our lives at risk—whether that’s policing, reproductive injustice, or economic inequality.” Hatcher pointed to issues such as rising evictions among Black families, the rollback of bodily autonomy laws, and the high cost of living as key drivers of the event’s agenda. “Our communities are facing premature death,” she said.

Workshops and plenaries will focus on direct action, policy advocacy, and practical organizing skills. Attendees will participate in training sessions that include how to resist evictions, organize around immigration enforcement, and disrupt systemic policies contributing to poverty and incarceration. “This is about fighting back,” Hatcher said. “We’re not conceding anything.” Hatcher addressed the persistent misconceptions about Black feminism, including the idea that it is a movement against men or families. “Black feminism is not a rejection of men,” she said. “It’s a rejection of patriarchy. Black men must be part of this struggle because patriarchy harms them too.” She also responded to claims that organizing around Black women’s issues weakens broader coalitions. “We don’t live single-issue lives,” Hatcher said. “Our blueprint is one that lifts all Black people.”

The conference will not be streamed virtually, but recaps and updates will be posted daily on Black Feminist Future’s YouTube channel and Instagram account. The event includes performances by Tank and the Bangas and honors longtime activists including Billy Avery, Erica Huggins, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. When asked how Black feminism helps families, Hatcher said the real threat to family stability is systemic oppression. “If we want to talk about strong Black families, we have to talk about mass incarceration, the income gap, and the systems that tear our families apart,” Hatcher said. “Black feminism gives us the tools to build and sustain healthy families—not just survive but thrive.”