Adonis May

My name is Adonis May, and I’m a 32-year-old gay African-American male.

I was born and raised in Houston and currently reside here. I am also a lead case manager at Prairie View A&M University.

I’ve done volunteer work for the City Of Houston, Camp Hope, M.E.N., Inc, AIDS Foundation Houston, Change Happens, Positive Efforts, Alief Independent School District, S.O.S.U., the Mahogany Project, Legacy and The M Society.

I am board chair of The Men’s Gathering (TMG), the oldest black gay men’s discussion group. I am also co-chair of Texas Black Women’s Initiative (TBWI); action chair of the African-American State Of Emergency Task Force; lead camp counselor of Camp Hope; and board chair of The Minority Initiative (TMI) Men’s Incorporated Committee member. I’m also a member of the Access to Care Committee, the Health Department Community Planning Group (CPG) and a Project PrIDE C.A.B. member.

My interests involve anything that helps bring health and happiness to the LGBTQIA community while building generational wealth.

All the hardships, setbacks, triumphs, relationships and kinships in my life have cultivated me into the man I am today. I’ve learned that life itself is actually created by the resistance to the pain. As the saying goes, “In life, pain is inevitable, yet suffering is optional.” So, whenever I now feel any form of pain, instead of resisting it, I embrace it. I’ve grown to be empowered in the skin that I’m in, that I will not shed it for someone else’s comfort.

I wanted to be a part of this project to share a narrative and a testimony of PrEP. I started taking PrEP before it was FDA-approved back when it was still in its trial stages. I was nervous like many people about it, but I was in a relationship where my partner was HIV positive. He researched that there was a trial in Houston and wanted us to have every tool to help me sustain my negative status. Fast forward seven years, and I’m still HIV Negative. I can’t say that PrEP is for everyone or that it’s perfect but it’s been a phenomenal tool for me. Everyone speculates when will HIV end and what will that look like? My answer to that is the time is here and it is PrEP.

It’s always better to be proactive in life. An HIV test is an empowering thing. They’re cheap or free, easy to take, and can help you take control of your physical and sexual health. As my mama says, “Stay ready so you won’t have to get ready!”

I care about equality and equity for all my LGBTQIA community in the present and in the future.

My family has been supportive since day one. I really am blessed to be born into a family that provided unconditional love.

Your health is your wealth, that’s what comes to mind when I hear, “Live Healthy. Live Longer.”

When I hear the phrase, “I am here. I exist. I matter,”  it means I’m here, I’m Queer and you will DEAL!