Founded May 1999 by longtime AIDS activist and survivor Phill Wilson to address the specific needs of the LGBT African American community.

The Black AIDS Institute (BAI) is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute’s mission is to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black leaders, institutions, and individuals, in efforts to confront HIV. BAI disseminates information; advocates for sound, inclusive, culturally responsive public and private sector health policies; offers training and capacity building; provides health screening for HIV/STI/Hep C and other chronic and/or infectious diseases, and linkage to comprehensive HIV care: and conducts advocacy and mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.

Every year, on February 7, individuals and organizations across the nation participate in National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) to promote HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and community involvement in black/African American communities.