Originally posted on April 10, 2015 06:01 PM

Today, April 10, 2015, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) joins with the nation to recognize National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD), which is an annual observance to educate the public about the impact of HIV/AIDS on young people as well as highlight the inspiring work young people are doing across the country to fight the epidemic. Young people today are the first generation to have never known a world without HIV/AIDS. In the United States alone, one in four new HIV cases are among youth, ages 13 to 24. Every month, 1,000 young people acquire HIV, and more than 70,000 young people are currently living with HIV across the country. Most new HIV cases in youth (about 70 percent) occur in gay and bisexual males; most are African American.

Danielle E. Stevens, #100toWatch cohort member and U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) Fellow at the National Center for Transgender Equality, added this: "Recognition of NYHAAD is vital in bringing attention to the ways in which HIV/AIDS impacts young, Black queer and trans communities. Typically, the way in which national dialogues around HIV/AIDS are framed center on the experiences of gay cis-gender men, leaving Black cis, trans, straight and queer women, femmes and girls out of the conversation. We must be intentional on this day to uplift the narratives of Black women and girls of all genders and orientations."