This final installment in the Louis Graham Virtual Roundtable series brings together Charles Stephens, Dr. Robert Aronson, and Dr. William Lopez to reflect on the late Dr. Louis Graham—a public health scholar, UMass-Amherst professor, and Morehouse School of Medicine alumnus who died suddenly in December 2019 before age 40. The panelists, who knew Graham as a mentee, doctoral advisee, and postdoctoral collaborator respectively, describe his groundbreaking research linking racism, mental health, and physical health outcomes among Black gay men, along with his hands-on, community-based participatory research approach that prioritized marginalized voices often left out of academic conversations. The discussion closes the roundtable series by honoring Graham as both an intellectually fearless researcher and a deeply generous friend whose sudden loss cut short a partnership—including his role in inspiring Stephens to found the Counter Narrative Project—that was poised for even greater impact.

This second installment in the Louis Graham Virtual Roundtable series, hosted by Charles Stephens of the Counter Narrative Project in partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), honors the legacy of the late public health researcher, UMass-Amherst professor, and MSM alumnus who died suddenly in December 2019. Panelists Stephens, Dr. Kisha Braithwaite, and Dr. Ugo Edu reflect on Graham's brilliance, his fearless advocacy against injustice, and his gift for translating public health research into accessible, community-centered knowledge. The discussion frames Graham's innovative approach to mental health disparities in Black and queer communities, along with his emphasis on relationship-building over transactional research, as a model of excellence for aspiring scholars and health equity advocates.

This first installment in the Louis Graham Virtual Roundtable series brings together Dr. Lance McCready, Justin Smith, and Charles Stephens of the Counter Narrative Project to honor Dr. Louis F. Graham, a public health researcher and advocate for Black queer communities who died in December, 2019. The panelists trace Graham's journey from Carleton College through his MPH at Morehouse School of Medicine and DrPH at UNC-Greensboro, highlighting how he overcame intersecting barriers of racism, homophobia, and classism to build a research legacy of over 1,000 citations centered on Black transgender and queer communities. The discussion frames Graham as a fearless, community-driven scholar whose commitment to ground-up, culturally grounded research continues to shape and inspire public health scholarship today.

William Johnson, the Director of PEN America’s Florida office, writes this tribute to poet Jubi Arriola-Headley.

At 52 years old, Jay Torrence, better known to most as Jay King Holliday, considers himself an orphan.

In the last 10 years, the co-creator and co-founder of the annual spring break gathering, Big Boy Pride, has had to bury both his mother and father. His father, whom he admits he hadn’t always had the closest relationship with, died from cancer in October 2012. His mother, and the person he still considers his best friend, died suddenly in December 2019.

“There is something really confusing about it—being without both of my parents at 52. I am a 52-year-old orphan,” he proclaimed to The Reckoning. “It doesn’t seem that it should be as impactful as it is, but it is—coming to terms with the reality that I’ve lost a lot of my legacy. The people who connect me to my history are no longer present.”

Most of those who have experienced the loss of a parent admit that it changes them. The pain never goes away, and the loss creates an unfillable void. For Holliday, a New York native now residing in Atlanta, the losses have had a unique effect on him. Prior to his father’s passing, they had time to heal.

CNP mourns the recent and sudden passing of pioneering researcher Dr. John L. Peterson, a leading figure in early HIV research, and mentor too many in Atlanta’s Black gay and healthcare communities. CNP Executive Director Charles Stephens cites Peterson as an early influence on his decades-long career in advocacy and organizing on behalf of Black gay men dating back to his time as an undergraduate student at Georgia State University, where Peterson was a member of the Psychology department faculty.

Last week a friend texted me to say that he’d just learned that Jimmie Scott passed away three years ago. Because this friend and I are collaborating on two community memory projects, news of Jimmie’s passing forged both an urgency and clarity around the significance of the work we are doing together, the work of Black queer remembrance.

His smile was perhaps Rodnell Dominique Riddick’s most recognizable trait. Bright and toothy, with an inner brilliance that illuminated his whole face. Smooth chocolate skin, bold fashion sensibility, and an indefatigable love for Black men of size were other defining traits for the man most in Atlanta’s creative and Black LGBTQ+ communities knew as Dominique or Dom/Domo. Founder of both the Fearful Clothing Line and later the Tempting, Handsome, Intelligent, and Charming Kings Movement aka the T.H.I.C.K.

I am not a soldier in war. I do not belong to a gang in the middle of a turf battle. I am not confined to a poorly operated prison (though Trump’s America can feel like that sometimes). I’m not in the midst of a sudden global contagion. Yet, I know 20 Black men across the U.S. who died within 365 days and only a handful were reported to have died of AIDS-related complications.

There was a murder in Atascocita, Texas on Sunday night. Devon Wade was killed by his partner Mario Williams. The police reports say there were two arguments. One resulted in Williams asking Wade to leave. Williams obliged. The second, and final argument, also concluded with Wade asking Williams to leave. He did leave through the back door, but not before delivering two bullets to his romantic partner’s head. Wade’s twin brother was found holding him, begging someone to call for help. It was, unfortunately, too late. Devon Wade had died. And in a way, I’m sure Mario Williams is now dead too.