In 1994, a nurse informed Gina Brown, then pregnant with her first child, that she had AIDS and was going to die. Thankfully, Gina was introduced to an AZT study to hopefully stop her from transmitting HIV to her unborn daughter. It worked: Gina’s daughter, Jamanii, was born HIV negative. Still, for 13 years, Gina hid her HIV status from everyone besides close family. In 2007, she finally shared her story publicly on a New Orleans “Quiet Hero” TV news segment — and received a flood of phone calls from women asking for her help. Gina started working for organizations like AIDS United and the Southern AIDS Coalition, and has never looked back. In 2018, Gina also came out as bisexual, through a blog post entitled, “I Have a Secret.” Again, a flood of women thanked her for sharing her story. “Quiet Hero” is exactly what Gina has become to hundreds of women in New Orleans, and far beyond.
Watch Gina’s full interview here
Preserve stories like Gina’s:
___________________
LifeCyle Rider: Kevin Rasmussen
“I am so very excited to be riding in the AIDS LifeCycle in honor of Gina Brown. Gina is an amazing woman, mother, and survivor of HIV. Her trusted and important voice is educating women in the South on HIV and normalizing what it means to be a proud woman living with HIV.”
Follow Kevin Rasmussen on Instagram
Kevin is part of #TeamOUTWORDS. Each cyclist on Team OUTWORDS is riding in honor of an OUTWORDS interviewee who has brought courage and vision to the battle to #endAIDS.
