Interview Of JD Davids

NYC Trans Oral History Project

JD Davids, a writer, health activist, and communication strategist, recounts his experiences as a member of the Philadelphia HIV/AIDS activist movement and subsequent move to New York City. A Philadelphia resident until 2002, JD talks about how his time spent in anarchist collective housing led him to ACT UP Philadelphia and other direct action organizing for HIV/AIDS services. JD expands on the evolution of his gender identity and the scope of his activism as he organized and networked to found Project TEACH and Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP). He concludes by discussing his move to New York City and how his gender expression developed through illness, pregnancy, and parenthood and which communities he is active in today. (Summary by Micah Katz.)