CDC launched AAALI as part of its Act Against AIDS communication campaign in 2009. The initiative initially brought together some of the nation’s foremost African American organizations to intensify HIV prevention efforts in black communities. In 2010, CDC expanded AAALI to also include organizations that focus specifically on men who have sex with men (MSM), and the Latino community. HIV takes the greatest toll among African Americans, Latinos and MSM of all races. The rate of new infections among blacks is seven times the rate among whites. Among Hispanics, the rate of new HIV infections is three times as high as that among whites. And according to a recent CDC analysis, the HIV diagnosis rate among MSM is 44 times that of other men.

The Center for Black Equity (CBE) (formerly known as the International Federation of Black Prides ) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) with the mission to create healthy Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities through individual and collective work, responsibility and self-determination. The vision of the CBE is to promote a global network of LGBT individuals, allies, community-based organizations and prides dedicated to achieving equality and social justice for Black LGBT communities through health equity, economic equity, and social equity.