That commitment requires us to speak honestly about HIV. More than 40,000 people are living with HIV across metro Atlanta, and Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men remain disproportionately affected. Across Georgia, Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men account for 44% of all new HIV diagnoses; in 2022 alone, more than 1,000 Black men ages 18–44 in this community were newly diagnosed.

These numbers are not evidence that something is wrong with Black men. They are evidence that HIV is still with us—and that the work of prevention, testing, treatment, access, and care is not finished.

We refuse to respond to this reality with fear, silence, shame, or stigma. In our brotherhood, HIV is not something that divides those who have it from those who do not. Whether we are living with HIV, loving someone who is, navigating risk, taking PrEP, undetectable, newly diagnosed, or simply committed to the health of our brothers, we share responsibility for ending the epidemic.

We fight AIDS, not brothers living with HIV.

BBB therefore commits to a culture where Black men can talk openly about sexual health, testing, prevention, treatment, pleasure, and care without judgment; where brothers living with HIV are affirmed, supported, and celebrated; and where all of us understand that ending HIV requires all of us.

BBB further believes in the centering, representation, and celebration of men of size as critical, valuable, and necessary. We understand this, too, as part of our broader commitment to creating spaces where Black men are not merely welcomed, but seen, protected, desired, cared for, and empowered to thrive.