About This Event
The Boston Women’s Fund is proud to present “Illuminating Ill Erotics: An Evening of Song, Storytelling, and Liberated Futures in the HIV/AIDS Movement.”
Join us on World AIDS Day, Tuesday, December 1, in Cambridge, MA, to celebrate Dr. Jallicia Jolly’s new book, Ill Erotics: Black Jamaican Women and Self-Making in Times of HIV/AIDS, an in-depth study of Black girls and women living with HIV in the Caribbean, and the indispensable role community-care and grassroots networks play in sustaining human well-being.
Together, we’ll honor the many women of the movement through songs, stories, and scholarship. Professor and beatboxer Chesney Snow will open the night accompanied by pianist AJ Khaw. Author Dr. Jallicia Jolly will share her journey to this work and insights from Ill Erotics, before joining Dr. Jo-Anna Rorie and Dr. Ndidimaka Amutah-Onukagha in a dynamic conversation about the HIV/AIDS and reproductive justice movements today. Renowned poet Staceyann Chin will close the evening with a spoken word performance. Book signing to follow.
A note about our sliding-scale tickets:
We want Boston Women's Fund convenings to be a space where people can gather across different experiences, identities, and relationships to resources. Our sliding-scale pricing increases accessibility and recognizes that although everyone’s income and financial flexibility varies, everyone belongs in the room.
When registering, please choose the contribution that feels possible and appropriate for you. If you have greater financial flexibility, we invite you to choose a higher contribution, or make an additional donation. Doing so helps make it possible for someone else to participate at little or no cost.
*No one will be turned away for lack of funds.*
Schedule
Doors open at 5:30 pm.
The program begins at 6:00 pm.
About The Author, Dr. Jallicia Jolly
Dr. Jallicia Jolly is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and reproductive justice researcher who is an Assistant Professor in Black Studies and American Studies at Amherst College. A 2025 National Academy of Sciences U.S. Kavli Fellow and Founding Director of the BREHA Collective (an interdisciplinary medical humanities research lab), she researches and writes on Black women's health, political leadership, reproductive justice organizing, and social movements in the U.S. and Caribbean. Dr. Jolly is the author of Ill Erotics: Black Jamaican Women and Self-Making in the Time of HIV/AIDS. She currently writes for Forbes, The Conversation, and Ms. Magazine, and her work has been featured in various media outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, Huffington Post, and The Boston Globe, among others. Her work has also been awarded recognition and supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Fulbright Scholar Program, The Mellon Mays Foundation, National Women's Studies Association, and more. Dr. Jolly educates and leads with justice and joy. Learn more about Ill Erotics here.
About This Event
The Boston Women’s Fund is proud to present “Illuminating Ill Erotics: An Evening of Song, Storytelling, and Liberated Futures in the HIV/AIDS Movement.”
Join us on World AIDS Day, Tuesday, December 1, in Cambridge, MA, to celebrate Dr. Jallicia Jolly’s new book, Ill Erotics: Black Jamaican Women and Self-Making in Times of HIV/AIDS, an in-depth study of Black girls and women living with HIV in the Caribbean, and the indispensable role community-care and grassroots networks play in sustaining human well-being.
Together, we’ll honor the many women of the movement through songs, stories, and scholarship. Professor and beatboxer Chesney Snow will open the night accompanied by pianist AJ Khaw. Author Dr. Jallicia Jolly will share her journey to this work and insights from Ill Erotics, before joining Dr. Jo-Anna Rorie and Dr. Ndidimaka Amutah-Onukagha in a dynamic conversation about the HIV/AIDS and reproductive justice movements today. Renowned poet Staceyann Chin will close the evening with a spoken word performance. Book signing to follow.
A note about our sliding-scale tickets:
We want Boston Women's Fund convenings to be a space where people can gather across different experiences, identities, and relationships to resources. Our sliding-scale pricing increases accessibility and recognizes that although everyone’s income and financial flexibility varies, everyone belongs in the room.
When registering, please choose the contribution that feels possible and appropriate for you. If you have greater financial flexibility, we invite you to choose a higher contribution, or make an additional donation. Doing so helps make it possible for someone else to participate at little or no cost.
*No one will be turned away for lack of funds.*
Schedule
Doors open at 5:30 pm.
The program begins at 6:00 pm.
About The Author, Dr. Jallicia Jolly
Dr. Jallicia Jolly is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and reproductive justice researcher who is an Assistant Professor in Black Studies and American Studies at Amherst College. A 2025 National Academy of Sciences U.S. Kavli Fellow and Founding Director of the BREHA Collective (an interdisciplinary medical humanities research lab), she researches and writes on Black women's health, political leadership, reproductive justice organizing, and social movements in the U.S. and Caribbean. Dr. Jolly is the author of Ill Erotics: Black Jamaican Women and Self-Making in the Time of HIV/AIDS. She currently writes for Forbes, The Conversation, and Ms. Magazine, and her work has been featured in various media outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, Huffington Post, and The Boston Globe, among others. Her work has also been awarded recognition and supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Fulbright Scholar Program, The Mellon Mays Foundation, National Women's Studies Association, and more. Dr. Jolly educates and leads with justice and joy. Learn more about Ill Erotics here.