Dontá Morrison Is #13 of Our Most Amazing HIV+ People of 2018

Dontá Morrison is a 45-year-old HIV-positive radio host of the The Dontá Show on BlogTalkRadio. Reality TV star Karamo Brown — with whom Morrison founded the organization 6in10 to fight HIV among black gay men — explains why he’s amazing:

Dontá Morrison is an example of strength, love, and thoughtful intention personified. As an HIV activist, minister, and educator, Dontá ensures that he uses all of his identities to start conversations around HIV in spaces that traditionally shy away from being part of the solution. Dontá once expressed, “I didn’t have a ‘me’ growing up — someone black, gay and open about their status who could give me guidance. If I would have had a ‘me’ I probably wouldn’t have contracted HIV. That’s why I go into these spaces — so people can see themselves and know that they can make healthier choices for their own life.”

Dontá has been HIV-positive for 18 years and publicly open about his status for 16. He knows that being open about his story can and has shaped the way others approach their own mental and physical health. Dontá shared with me, “being a mentor to young people, and showing them that living with HIV does not stop your life, has been continually my greatest accomplishment. When I see these young people get it… I am overwhelmed with joy and hope.”

I’ve never met someone who didn’t immediately feel comforted when meeting Dontá. You can feel the love and compassion radiating off of him. He lives his life in service of others — not for notoriety. He loves people unconditionally and knows he must do the work so that others can find that unconditional love in themselves. Dontá once shared with a congregation, “Sexuality isn’t black and white, it’s colorful and diverse — and it’s up to each of us to have more honest conversations about sexuality so that the people in our lives will feel more liberated to be honest about who they are, which in turn will lead them to be more responsible.”

I am personally inspired by how Dontá navigates his life with courage and honor to help find a solution to end the HIV epidemic. The work we do together with the organization we cofounded, 6in10.org, is just one more example of the work Dontá does for the community he loves.

— Karamo Brown is an actor and producer, known for being the first out gay black man on reality TV (MTV’s The Real World: Philadelphia) as well as starring on Dr. Drew on Call, and hosting Are You the One: Second Chances. He can also be seen on Netflix's new reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, on which Karamo is the culture expert.