Since the initial HIV outbreak in the 1980s, the U.S. government has denied acknowledgement, funding, treatment, and prevention of the disease and wrote laws about what HIV-positive folks can and cannot do, specifically due to its association with the LGBTQ+ population.

Worldwide, UNAIDS estimates that people in prison are on average five times more likely to be living with HIV compared with adults who are not incarcerated.

The South only has 37% of the country's population, but Southern states contribute half of HIV-positive Americans.

We'll talk about the public health ramifications of criminalizing HIV/AIDS, racial disparities when it comes to diagnosis and treatment, and ways you can support efforts to control the epidemic in the Southeastern United States.