Our Program
ABOUT US
In the quest to develop a framework to better serve Black women’s HIV prevention and care needs, the Black Women’s Working Group to Reframe Risk (BWWTRR) most significantly modeled and challenged others to also build community; center Blackness, womanhood, and Black womanhood; and create “opportunities and improve communication with and about Black women and HIV”.
Black Women Spring for R&R (BGSR) prioritizes these best practices in response to reframing risk. BGSR is a program and movement that builds an informed and supported network of Black women, Gen Z health advocates attending Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
The goals of BGSR include (1) humanizing Black women's sexuality and the interconnected experiences that impact health status (2) serving as resources for informing and institutionalizing a reframing of risk for HIV, (3) curating spaces and improving opportunities for communication with and about Black women and HIV.
BGSR is fueled by the historical leadership, strength, and tenacity of Black women who have lived or are living with HIV and Black public health and HIV advocates. It centers their lived experiences and reflects their personal and professional resolve to disrupt social and health inequities, intergenerational trauma, and systems of oppression. All activities will engage the imagination, provide space and solace, build a sense of individual and collective agency, and encourage honesty, forgiveness, healing, and liberation.
Our Goals:
75
Curators from HBCU & PBI's
10,000
Black Girls Reached Across the Country!
3 years+
BGSR and ASBW 2023-2025
Program Highlights
Education and Empowerment
Learn about critical topics, such as HIV, the reframing of risk, gender equity, bodily autonomy, and more.
Engaging with Leaders
Meet national leaders, community organizers, advocates, and R&R Curators from other institutions, fostering a network of like-minded individuals committed to positive change.
Expense Paid Trip
Selected students will receive a funded trip to Alternative Spring Break 2024 to share space and innovative strategies with peers and mentors from across the U.S.
Black History and Health Tours
Participants will have the opportunity to be immersed in Black history via tours and story-telling to deepen understanding of community and self.
Campus Kickback
Develop plans to share the knowledge gained through trainings and at ASBW with your campus community and beyond.
WHAT WE DO
Equity Centered Capacity and Community Building
ASBW serves as a catalyst for campus engagements called Campus Kickback which are curated by and for Black women, Gen-Z students using the Risk to Reason framework. Students will return to campus, provide the Risk to Reason guide to their student health center, and organize efforts with the lead clinical staff to audit and address the reframing of HIV risk in service to Black women on campus. R&R events are peer-lead social events that reflect Risk to Reason learnings along with the health and social priorities of the student participants of ASBW. These complementary efforts will support community and system adoption of reframing risk.
Legacy of ASBW- Campus Kickbacks
The relationship building, peer learning, self-reflection, and self-care continue on campus!
Students will "Spring into Action" with their tailored programming, expanding the network and legacy of Black women, Gen-Z health advocates who will improve opportunities for communication with and about Black women and HIV.
They will provide student health services with the Risk to Reason framework - workbooks for display.
Students will receive capacity-building assistance.Financial assistance (mini-grants to host Campus Kickback)Technical assistance is provided by ASBW hosts and mentors.
Mini-grants to support student-led initiatives at their home campus
Promote advocacy and communication through community initiatives and advocacy.
Develop high-level leadership and advocates for HIV prevention and care across disciplines.
Community-led anti-stigma campaigns that ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all Black women.
Normalize HIV communication and education around pleasure and bodily autonomy in stigma-free environments for all Black women.