Building a Powerful Grassroots HIV/AIDS Movement

JD Davids, Che Gossett, Imani Henry, and Jason Walker discuss what it looks like to build a truly grassroots movement around HIV/AIDS that centers the people most impacted.

BCRW and The Engaging Tradition Project at Columbia University co-convened a conference called Queer Dreams and Non-Profit Blues to examine the critiques emerging from queer and feminist activists and scholars about the impact of funding on social movement agendas and formations. During the conference, Hope Dector from BCRW and Dean Spade from The Engaging Tradition Project conducted interviews with many of the speakers about their analysis and strategies related to the conference themes. These interviews were edited into 30 short videos that aim to bring these critical perspectives into an accessible format for use in activist spaces and classrooms. These videos highlight the type of knowledge production that is possible when the boundaries between activism and the academy are actively traversed.

This video is Part 1 in a series of 3 videos about organizing around HIV/AIDS.

1. Social Service Or Social Change: Building Political Power for People with HIV/AIDS

2. Who Leads the Fight Against HIV/AIDS?

3. Building a Powerful Grassroots HIV/AIDS Movement