BackDoor Access with Friends

Our producer, Joy, comes to the table to host Mia Cotton (COO, Friends For All) and media personality plus Gina Neely (Bluff City Life, Food Netowrk's Down Home With The Neelys). For context Mia is in her 40s, Joy is in her 50s and Gina is a fresh 60 so we are getting various perspectives and stages of life. The ladies get very raw and real in talking about how they were impacted then and now. The conversation delves into dating, mating, protective practices and sex and the moments/events that impacted their perception. It's a good one y'all! Tune in and lock in. 

Patrick Lee joins Justin to talk about from whence we came. There has been so much progress in how we see, treat and prevent HIV and AIDS. He himself is a living testimony as someone who was affected by this disease as young man during the height of the pandemic. He is a survivor! He has survived not only the harsh medications that were common at the time but stigma and now has funneled it into his work within the community. Listen as he lays out his own story but also the many many ways we have overcome and evolved. 

Jasmine Tasaki is keeping it a stack with us in this one! She talks openly about sex work and how she came to be in that business. She is now the Executive Director of We Care Tennessee. She talks about the history of violence in her life as a result of sex work and even what she experienced outside of sex work. She talks about her life in Atlanta, her transition back to Memphis, being humbled then finding her purpose in helping others who have been where she was to say safe. It's a helluva story! 

Justin speaks with two different women with two very different stories - Sharmain and Felicitas Bey-Israel. (side note: Hear some of the Sharmain and Winston origin story - see earlier episode) But be forewarned - these stories will take you from heartbroken to inspired and a few other emotions in between. But the main idea is that, it's not always who or who you think it is. HIV is more than a "gay disease." We are amplifying different voices, perspectives and experiences so that we all can broaden our minds and open our hearts. Both of these ladies have overcome and in some ways are still currently overcoming. Listen up, open up. 

Consent is a tricky thing right now as our society, as a collective, leans into a better understanding of what this actually means. And maybe - just maybe - we are leaning into some mentality shifts. Love should not and does not hurt - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually or sexually. "The absence of [the word] no is not a yes....consent is not a just a yeah but a hell yeah." Phillis Lewis is the Executive Director of Love Doesn't Hurt, the only Black LGBT led organization in the country that provides emergency and transitional housing for victims of domestic abuse. She joins us today to talk about respectfully engaging with your partner (whether serious or casual), resources for people who have been abused and how to have these sometimes tough or awkward conversations. These incidents go unreported more often than not in the LGBT community as it can be difficult to find providers who are affirming or focused more on their sexuality than the offense. Phillis is here to help and so are we!

Officer Myron Dixon, the LGBTQ Liaison from the Memphis Police Department, joins us on this episode to talk about how first responders stay safe. He also talks about how he came into this role, some of the challenges of the job and how he wants to build bridges between the community and police officers. Listen up!

In one of our most powerful and emotional episodes,  Justin is joined by Terrance Adams and Denford Galloway. They were diagnosed at different stages as it relates to the progression of treatment options; they contracted the virus under different circumstances and; they had different experiences around reception and acceptance. But they are both battling stigma around their HIV status, learning self-acceptance and self-love, and navigating family dynamics. Fear of being stigmatized leads to people shying away from knowing their status. It also fuels a fear of being isolated and ostracized as it relates to both their sexuality and their diagnosis. But we're here to assure you  that you are more than your diagnosis! It's not the whole story and certainly not the end of your story.  So stigma can kick rocks! 

Women- without you there is literally no us! You are the givers of life so it's important that we talk about keeping our mothers healthy, shepherding babies safe into the world and through the world. How do mothers-to-be manage an HIV diagnosis/status? How do you keep your baby safe and not transmit the virus? We have come so far and Dr. Nikia Gray, Chief Medical Officer of Choices Center for Reproductive Health, joins Justin to talk about this and so much more. Don't think this is your standard issue dry conversation. It gets a lil spicy yall! Pull on up.

Believe it or not, this is a love story. Sharmain and Renwick Winston are mismatched - or serodiscordant - yet perfectly matched. Listen to the story about how they met, how she disclosed, how he reacted, how they cope, how they navigated pregnancy and parenting. How he does he stay negative? Can you breastfeed? How do you keep the kids the negative? Absolutely lovely couple and fascinating conversation! 

Dr. Shawn Hayden talks to Justin about what's really going on with PeP and PrEP and why it should be considered a safety net NOT a protection plan.