WE SHALL NOT BE REMOVED: BLACK GAY MEN RESPOND TO THE SENTENCING OF MICHAEL JOHNSON

URGENT:

Originally posted by theCounter Narrative Project

May 15, 2015
Today at Michael Johnson’s trial, the jury recommended a 30 year sentence. Yesterday, after just a few days of testimony and only two hours of deliberation, a nearly all-white jury convicted Michael Johnson on one count of recklessly infecting a partner with HIV, one count of attempting to recklessly infect a partner with HIV, and three counts of recklessly exposing partners to HIV. We are saddened and enraged by what seems to have been a lackluster defense of Johnson, but ultimately we are not surprised. There are many people in this country who still believe, out of ignorance or cruelty, that people with HIV are pariahs who we all need to be protected from. But Michael Johnson is a part of our community and he is not disposable. Far too many young Black gay men receive an HIV diagnosis in this country, and nearly one in three can expect to in their lifetimes. And Missouri’s solution, to a problem they helped create, is prison.

Contracting HIV isn’t Michael’s fault. For decades, so few resources have gone toward a community based HIV prevention and treatment response for Black gay men. This has created a situation where contracting HIV feels almost inevitable. It is ironic that the state of Missouri would convict Michael Johnson of criminal transmission out of a claim of concern for “the public.” If Missouri has such concern about the health and wellbeing of its residents, why won’t the Missouri state legislature even expand Medicaid—a very easy way to ensure nearly all people with and at risk for HIV could have access to health care? After the trial is over, it is very likely that the young men accusing Johnson will continue living in a state that will do very little to ensure they have access to HIV prevention services and basic access to health care. Johnson will be in prison, and the accusers who are currently HIV negative will likely remain highly vulnerable to HIV infection. That’s the state’s fault—not Michael Johnson.

It is hard to ignore the racial optics of this case. A very muscular and attractive Black man stood accused by mostly white men, in a small county, and was tried in front of a nearly all-white jury. Whether in health care, or the courtroom, there is no justice for Black gay men in either location.

We want to reiterate that our support for Johnson will continue, whether or not he disclosed his status to the accusers, and despite whatever sentence he receives. We will continue to fight until he is released, and until all such laws are removed from Missouri and across the country. We will continue to work to support Michael through any appeals, and his time in prison, however long it may be.

But in the meantime, this is the agenda we will be actively pursuing:

1.Support Michael Johnson while he’s in prison, continue to raise awareness about his case, work to support any potential appeals or strategies to reduce his sentence or overturn this ruling altogether.

2.Continue to dialog with Black gay men around the country in person and through social media about the importance of opposing such laws.

3.Repeal of the laws that criminalize HIV exposure and transmission, in Missouri and nationwide.

4.Challenge our allies in Black progressive organizations, criminal justice reform, HIV prevention and treatment, and the LGBT movement to take more of an active role in challenging HIV criminalization.

5.Develop more capacity for Black gay men’s grassroots organizing.

We know that many people still remain incredibly frightened of an HIV diagnosis, which undergirds the logic behind many of these laws. We also know that this country has an all-too vivid imagination when it comes to ideas of out-of-control Black sexuality, and a commitment to prisons and punitive responses to challenges. This allows state actors to be absolved of responsibility for creating the conditions that lead many Black gay men to become HIV positive, or imprisoned, or both.

We will fight until Johnson is released, and until we are all free.

Sincerely.

Tyrell manning

Daniel D Driffin

David Roscoe Moore

Reggie Dunbar II

Michael J. Brewer

Brian Alston-Carter

Kenyon Farrow

Isaiah Wilson

Ricardo D. Wynn

Mathew Rodriguez

Stephaun E. Wallace

Tyrone Hanley

Alvin Agarrat

Bryan C. Jones

Michael Blair Franklin Jr.

Dr. Jeffrey McCune

Kevin Q. Ewing

Terence Pleasant McCune

Matthew Rose

Marco M. Brown

Devin Barrington-Ward

Aunsha Hall-Everett

Darwin Thompson

Cornelius Mabin

Michael Tikili

Michael Everett

Preston Mitchum

Derrick Merkerson

Anthony Thompson

andré m. carrington, Ph.D.

Brandon Dykes

Derrick D. Matthews

Gavin Morrow-Hall

Anthony Antoine McWilliams

Tabias Wilson

S. Wakefield

E.Taylor Doctor

James Lester

Keith R. Green

David Malebranche

Raymond Thomas

Kali Lindsey

Ronald G. Murray,MPA, LSW

Leo Moore

Robert W. Williams, III

Cornelius A. Wilson

Kenneth LeBlue

Adrian Ogle

Rev. Bertram Johnosn

Kenneth Pass

Darius Bost

Kenneth Moore

Charles Stephens

Amir Dixon

Justin Smith

eric o. reece

Anthony Galloway

Eddie Wiley

Darron Marble

Corey Yarbrough

Cornelius A. Wilson

Michael C. Webb, Jr.

Craig Washington

For more info, contact: freeblackgaymen@gmail.com

Resources:

http://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/initiatives/positive-justice-project

http://www.amfar.org/heavy-impact-of-hiv-aids-on-black-gay-men-us/

http://thecounternarrative.org/2015/05/07/an-open-letter-to-michael-johnson/