National Task Force on AIDS Prevention

The National Task Force on AIDS Prevention (NTFAP) originated as a program of the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT), a multi-racial gay organization. NRFAP was officially founded in July of 1988.

The San Francisco Chapter of BWMT formed its AIDS TAsk Force in 1985. This evolved into a non-profit AIDS service provider, Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services (BAHSES) by the late 1980s. NTFAP originally organized under BAHSES, but in 1992 NTFAP received its own non-profit status. Some of the major programs contracted for by NTFAP have been jointly developed and run with other people of color groups such as the Gay Men of Color Consortium, a coalition of AIDS organizations in San Francisco. Among these programs have been Early Advocacy and Care for HIV (EACH), Educational Models for Community Change (EMC2), and the Brothers Network.

Organizational History

The National Task Force on AIDS Prevention (NTFAP) originated as a program of the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT), a multi-racial gay organization. NTFAP was officially founded in July of 1988, but was preceded by AIDS education and support work carried out by Black and White Men Together (BWMT) chapters across the country.

The San Francisco chapter of BWMT was the first to work with AIDS education and prevention, starting in the mid-1980s. Members of the National Board saw this work as an effective model and wanted to carry it to other communities. It was becoming clear throughout the later 1980s that the rate of infection among gay men of color was increasing much faster than that of white gay men, and that new methods of outreach needed to be developed. NTFAP was created as a vehicle to foster culturally appropriate education and prevention specifically geared to gay and bisexual men of color. Although much of its actual service has been performed locally, the work was always intended as model testing for a national audience of BWMT chapters and other groups working with gay and bisexual men of color.

The San Francisco Chapter of BWMT formed its AIDS Task Force in 1985. This evolved into a non-profit AIDS service provider, Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services (BAHSES) by the late 1980s. NTFAP originally organized under BAHSES and contracts were secured under its non-profit status. The first office, a joint one, was on Church Street. The two groups then moved to adjoining offices on O'Farrell. In 1992 NTFAP received its own non-profit status and direct ties between it and BAHSES began to unravel. BAHSES eventually closed in early 1994. NTFAP moved to offices at 944 Market Street and in 1994 moved to a larger suite at 973 Market.

Some of the major programs contracted for by NTFAP have been jointly developed and run with other people of color groups. Chief among these was the Gay Men of Color Consortium, a coalition of the various gay men of color AIDS organizations in San Francisco. Because of its size and multicultural nature, NTFAP was chosen as the lead agency for these programs, and contracts were awarded to NTFAP. Among these have been Early Advocacy and Care for HIV (EACH), Educational Models for Community Change (EMC²), and the Brothers Network.

Reggie Williams, long time community activist and member of BWMT, was the Executive Director of NTFAP from its birth until his retirement about 1994. Williams also served on the boards of the NABWMT, the AIDS Action Council in Washington DC, and numerous other organizations related to African Americans, lesbians and gay men, and AIDS. Randy Miller succeeded Williams as Executive Director. Miller had been the program director of EACH, which was successful at time when many other agencies were experiencing problems fulfilling their contracts.

NTFAP was originated to serve as an advocacy and outreach group specifically targeting gay men of color, a frequently under-served population. Neither local, state, or federal agencies are set up to deal with community-based groups that are national in scope, and NTFAP had to fight innumerable battles to fulfill its mission to address both local needs and to support other groups addressing this population on a national level. Its success in responding quickly and creatively to demands of the AIDS bureaucracy, while still fulfilling both missions has made it a nationally significant organization.

The Center for Positive Care (CPC) was one of the many coalition projects in which NTFAP participated. It was an experiment arranged by the San Francisco AIDS Office using the first batch of the Ryan White CARE Funds in 1991. Several AIDS Service providers were to open a joint outreach center to enable clients to see caseworkers or other staff of several agencies at one location. For further information on CPC see the AIDS Office of the San Francisco Department of Health records held in Special Collections at the San Francisco Public Library.

The HIV Health Services Planning Council, commonly called the CARE Council, was the group that

oversaw the distribution of the federal Ryan White CARE Funds. Reggie Williams was a charter member of this group.

Administrative History

The National Task Force on AIDS Prevention (NTFAP) originated as a program of the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT), a multi-racial gay organization. NTFAP was officially founded in July of 1988, but was preceded by AIDS education and support work carried out by BWMT chapters across the country.

The San Francisco chapter of BWMT was the first to work with AIDS education and prevention, starting in the mid-1980's. Members of the National Board saw this work as an effective model and wanted to carry it to other communities. It was becoming clear throughout the later 1980s that the rate of infection among gay men of color was increasing much faster than that of white gay men, and that new methods of outreach needed to be developed. NTFAP was created as a vehicle to foster culturally appropriate education and prevention specifically geared to gay and bisexual men of color. Although much of its actual service has been performed locally, this has always been intended as model testing for a national audience of BWMT chapters and other groups working with gay and bi men of color.

The San Francisco Chapter of BWMT formed its AIDS Task Force in 1985. This evolved into a non-profit AIDS service provider, Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services (BAHSES) by the late 1980s. NTFAP originally organized under BAHSES and contracts were secured under its non-profit status. In 1992 NTFAP received its own non-profit status and direct ties between it and BAHSES began to unravel. BAHSES weakened and eventually closed in early 1994.

As NTFAP grew in the 1990s under its first director Reggie Williams, much of the focus was on NTFAP's mission to help develop similar organizations in other cities. An exception was the popular walk-in counseling and educational program, the Brothers Network, NTFAP opened to help local gay and bisexual men and transsexuals.

Some of the major programs contracted for by NTFAP have been jointly developed and run with other people of color groups. Chief among these is the Gay Men of Color Consortium, a coalition of the various gay men of color AIDS organizations in San Francisco. Because of its size and multicultural nature, NTFAP was chosen as the lead agency for these programs, and contracts were awarded to NTFAP. Among these programs have been Early Advocacy and Care for HIV (EACH), Educational Models for Community Change (EMC2), and the Brothers Network.

In the late 1990s the Task Force had a financial crisis that unexpectedly destroyed the organization. In lieu of back rent, the manager of the building the NTFAP offices had been in (973 Market), seized furnishings, filing cabinets, and many cartons of records which were moved into basement storage.

* This organizational history was largely taken from Finding Aid to the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, 1986-1994, MSS 94-59 at the University of California, San Francisco, accessed through the Online Archive of California, September 2, 2007.