NBJC in the News

The Walmart Foundation has announced that the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) received a $250,000 grant to further its work in driving cultural competence at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and strengthening inclusion and cohesion with a focus on the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) community. NBJC will use the grant to expand its initiative with some of the nation’s leading HBCUs, The Road to Black America Embracing LGBTQ Equality.

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NGMHAAD) , an annual observance designed to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS on gay and bisexual men in the United States. The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)—America's leading Black LGBTQ/same gender loving (SGL) civil rights organization focused on federal public policy—joins leaders, activists, advocates, communities and families across our nation to highlight opportunities to disrupt the impact that this pandemic continues to have among Black gay and bisexual men in the United States.

My name is Calvin Tendai Pegus, and I am the Health and Wellness Summer Intern at the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Morehouse College’s Project IMHOTEP. I am also an advocate and health communicator. I encourage those within my community and beyond this National HIV Testing Day to know their status and get tested. No longer can we sit by idle and continue to feel brokenhearted as our brothers, sisters and other family members are the spoils of war in this battle against HIV/AIDS.

One year ago, in the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy, we came together in grief, in unity, and in solidarity with the Orlando community and millions of people everywhere, to condemn this act of hate violence and affirm that love conquers hate. That senseless act struck at the heart of the LGBTQ and Latinx communities, families, and close friends, and at the core of one of our nation’s greatest strengths: our diversity. The ensuing backlash against the American Muslim community led to hate speech and violence, shootings, and mosque vandalism that claimed even more victims.