Each February, we celebrate the achievements of Black Americans during Black History Month. We are proud to honor all of the outstanding Black ANAC members who are working to advance HIV/AIDS care, research, prevention, education and policy. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is celebrated every year on Feb. 7 to acknowledge the progress made in HIV prevention and care among Black Americans while recognizing the work still needed to address the impact of HIV on these communities.

To celebrate, we talked to Martez Smith, a current doctoral candidate about joining ANAC and his work in Black communities.

Years as an ANAC member: 5

To me, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day means raising awareness, promoting education, supporting advocacy efforts and implementing impactful strategies to end the HIV epidemic for Black Americans across the United States. I combat HIV in a myriad of ways, researching factors that increase Black individuals' vulnerability to sexual transmission of HIV; sharing my personal experience living with HIV; and providing professional development and capacity-building support to grassroots nonprofits who serve Black queer communities.

My experience in the house and ball community inspired me to join the fight to end HIV/AIDS. I joined a ballroom house at the age of 18. Many of my fellow house members, whom I consider family, were directly impacted by HIV. Seeing so many of my loved ones impacted made me eager to join the fight to end HIV and AIDS. My very first role in the field was as an HIV medical case management intern, which I completed as part of my academic requirements for my B.S. in social work. I later seroconverted at the age of 21. Thus, my efforts to eradicate HIV became just as vital to my own livelihood as much as they were to the livelihood of my family and the Black community overall.

Learn more about the modern ballroom scene in this article by The New York Times.

As a social worker, I was initially apprehensive about joining ANAC. When colleagues would approach me about submitting an abstract or applying for an ANAC conference scholarship my kneejerk response was always, "...but I'm not a nurse!" After a bit of gentle encouragement from mentors and my own investigation into ANAC's endeavors, I reluctantly submitted an abstract for a student poster presentation. To my surprise, the abstract was accepted and I was granted ANAC membership! What awaited me was a community of nurses and other professionals from across the healthcare field who embraced me with open arms. My involvement in ANAC has aided me tremendously in making new connections, improving the quality of my research, and most importantly, challenging me to evolve my thinking.

Definitely! Drs. LaRon Nelson and Mitchell Wharton both encouraged me to pursue doctoral study at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, where they both received their PhDs (they also encouraged me to join ANAC). Nelson and Wharton, as well as Drs. Natalie Leblanc and James McMahon, have unambiguously supported my endeavors in ANAC. McMahon, Nelson and Leblanc are also on my dissertation committee and comprise the sponsoring team for my NIH F31 award. The aforementioned mentors have been indispensable to my success as a doctoral trainee and I truly feel honored to work under their guidance.

Interested in becoming an ANAC member? Visit our website to learn more!