Won't Fade Away: Intersections of Narrative and HIV and AIDS Activism in Jackson, Mississippi

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article demonstrates the therapeutic benefits of storytelling and testimony through qualitative interviews with HIV+ Black gay men in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2017. Sponsored by Project + Connect, a story preservation nonprofit based in New York, the research trip was inspired by a New York Times article claiming that 50% of all gay Black men in the South will contract HIV in their lifetimes. Analyzing the personal narratives of the study's participants against the political and historical contexts of racism and homophobia in the deep South, the researcher argues for the strengthening of the HIV/AIDS movement through storytelling, providing a pathway for theater teaching artists to use their skills to facilitate social change.