In moments of struggle, when discrimination intensifies, when rights are rolled back, when our communities are pushed to the margins, it can be easy to feel discouraged. Yet time and again, hope shows up in the form of one another. It lives in every advocate who refuses to step aside, every organizer who keeps fighting, and every person who chooses community over despair.

As we look toward Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are reminded that progress has always been carried by people who, despite hardship, commit to showing up with hope, courage, and conviction. That same spirit fuels our HIV advocacy movement today. We find strength in each other, and we push forward together.

This year’s National Day of Service is taking place against the backdrop of harmful federal policy decisions that restrict DEI initiatives, attack transgender youth, and undermine services for marginalized communities. Dr. King’s work reminds us that systemic injustice does not resolve itself — it is confronted by people willing to speak, act, and demand change.

Just as Dr. King marched, organized, and lifted the voices of those most impacted, we, too, will walk the halls of power — armed with truth, courage, and community.

AIDSWatch 2026 is just two months away and is one of the most powerful opportunities we have each year to bring our progress forward. From March 16-18, 2026, we will gather as a community to confront the inequities that threaten the health, dignity, and rights of people living with and vulnerable to HIV — and to advocate for the policies that justice demands.

What to Expect at AIDSWatch 2026

During the conference, you’ll hear from community leaders, policy experts, and advocates who are shaping the future of the HIV movement. Workshops will cover issues essential to ending the epidemic, including:

  • Policy threats and protections across systems — from Medicaid, immigration, housing, aging, incarceration, and global HIV funding to research equity, defending access to care, and resisting rollbacks that disproportionately harm marginalized communities

  • Community-led and narrative-based advocacy — centering lived experience, ethical storytelling, harm reduction, peer-led prevention, and culturally grounded strategies as tools for policy change and congressional engagement

  • Movement-building for equity and justice — advancing racial, gender, disability, and economic justice through coalition-building, mentorship, leadership development, and grassroots power rooted in MIPA and “Nothing About Us Without Us”

View our evolving agenda now:

VIEW AGENDA

AIDSWatch is more than a conference. It is our collective moment to honor the resilience of people living with HIV, to celebrate our wins, and to lay the foundation for the year of advocacy ahead. Register today:

Where: Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel — Book your stay now!

When: March 16-18, 2026

Price: $75 — Ticket prices increase on Monday, February 23. Secure your spot today!

REGISTER NOW

This MLK Day, let’s not only remember Dr. King’s message, let’s live it. Join us in transforming service into action, action into justice, and justice into lasting change.

With gratitude and solidarity,

The AIDSWatch Planning Partners

AIDSWatch is spearheaded by AIDS United. This message was originally sent January 16, 2026.