Opening November 20 | GLBT Historical Society Museum
Photos: Reggie Williams
ABOUT This Exhibition
Yours in the Struggle, Reggie highlights the life and achievements of pioneering Black gay AIDS activist Reggie Williams, born 75 years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1988, Reggie co-founded the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention (NTFAP) to provide culturally relevant HIV/AIDS education and advocacy for Black gay, bisexual, and other men of color. He served as NTFAP’s first executive director from 1988 until 1994.
Reggie led the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT), taking early action on how the epidemic impacted the wider Black community. In 1985, the San Francisco chapter of Black and White Men Together (BWMT) formed its own AIDS Task Force to address the emerging crisis. This critical work eventually laid the foundation for NTFAP, which became a major national organization addressing HIV prevention among gay men of color.
Recognizing that early AIDS-prevention materials were ineffective for Black gay men, Reggie shifted AIDS activism toward programs creating better messaging boards and support services tailored specifically to the identities and experiences of Black gay men, underscoring the need for intersectional strategies and intersectional spaces for combatting HIV/AIDS.
Following an early retirement in February 1994, Reggie moved to Amsterdam with his partner, Wolfgang Schreiber, who has been a steward of Reggie’s legacy and collection in the years since, and has lovingly curated this exhibition in his honor.
Diagnosed with HIV in 1986, Reggie passed away from AIDS-related complications on February 7, 1999 — the first inaugural observance of National Black AIDS Awareness Day. Yours in the Struggle, Reggie, how he would frequently conclude his letters to loved ones, compatriots, and friends, is a testament to the enduring fight against HIV/AIDS in our community, the continued need for institutional support around prevention that centers Black people and communities of colors, and the solidarity that it takes to make progress possible.
Photo By: Jasmine Singh Rosado
About Aleo Landeta
Aleo Landeta (they/them) is a trans and Latine visual artist and educator based in Oakland whose practice spans drawing, painting, installation, and public programming. Their work centers queer joy as liberation, drawing from lived experience and the communities that have held space for them to live authentically. They have been exhibited at MACLA, Bedford Gallery, Berkeley Art Center, and Jonathan Carver Moore, among others, with work held in the permanent collection of the Bakersfield Museum of Art. Recent support includes the SoEx Alternative Exposure Grant (2025), the King Artist Residency (2024), and the Homebody Fellowship at Ma's House & BIPOC Art Studio (2022). Learn More.
About the GLBT Historical Society
Founded in 1985, the GLBT Historical Society is a global leader in LGBTQ+ public history. The Society collects, preserves, exhibits, and makes accessible to the public materials and knowledge to support and promote understanding of LGBTQ+ history, culture, and arts in all their diversity. In 2011, the Society established and continues operating the first museum of LGBTQ+ history and culture in the United States. Through the Dr. John P. DeCecco Archives, the organization maintains one of the world’s largest archival collections of LGBTQ+ historical materials.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
This exhibition is made possible with generous support from the following sponsors:
