A conversation with the legendary actor Andre De Shields is a master class.

The Tony-award-winning actor is currently receiving rave reviews as Ben Loman in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman." De Shields plays the successful and wealthy older brother of Willy Loman (Wendell Pierce), a salesman grappling with a fruitless life in a burgeoning America. The latest production of "Salesman" makes history as the first Broadway revival of the dramatic masterpiece to feature African American actors in the leading roles.

A celebrated Black queer artist, De Shields began his professional career in a 1969 Chicago production of "Hair." His star turn in the title role of the 1978 Broadway hit, "The Wiz," opposite Stephanie Mills, has endeared him to audiences across the globe.

De Shields insists that his most challenging role is always the one directly in front of him. Whether performing for an entire house or in scenes with Neil Patrick Harris in the hit Netflix comedy “Uncoupled,” or standing before a classroom filled with fresh-faced students. Each time he steps on stage, he does so as an advocate. Over the last five decades, he's prioritized helping audiences understand and accept what it means to be human.

"As an actor-activist, I want to fill intimate spaces with enormous beauty," De Shields proclaimed.

HIV and sex work criminalization often intersect, which means a person suspected of “exposing” someone to a virus can be grouped with a person exchanging sex for money, housing, or food, as both are labeled “criminals.” Advocates from both decriminalization sectors have rallied for doing away with these long standing policies, which have public health and criminal justice implications.

Organizations ranging from the Positive Women’s Network and the Sero Project to Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA) have concentrated forces most recently to tackle both HIV and sex work criminalization in a collective called Health Not Prisons. They’re organizing to remove criminal charges and shift policing away from sex workers and people living with HIV (PLWH).

Chauncey McGlathery, sexual justice coordinator at the Sero Project, supports breaking down the silos that have kept HIV activists and sex worker activists from joining forces.