Every third Wednesday of the month, Maria Davis presents “Mad Wednesdays,” a music showcase at Shrine in Harlem. She’s been a music industry insider for more than 35 years, working with artists like Jay Z who featured her on his 1996 classic album “Reasonable Doubt.” Raised in the Bronx’s Mott Haven projects, she comes from a musical family and her sister Jacci McGhee joined Keith Sweat for a vocal collaboration on his timeless 1988 R&B hit, “Make It Last Forever.”
By the 1990s, Davis had become well known as a promoter and DJ, and was the only female promoter in a class next to Russell Simmons, Andre Herrell, and others. But in 1995, Davis, who was a mother of two, found out she had HIV. But after going a length of time without being treated for the virus, it had developed into AIDS. “My initial reaction was, I didn’t have it. [The HIV test] was lying,” said Davis, 66.
“Black people didn’t get HIV. That was a gay white man’s disease. That’s what I thought.”
At the time, AIDS medications were not as advanced as they are today, so Davis would have had to take AZT, a drug for cancer treatment, which she opted out of. She eventually began suffering the debilitating effects of the virus.
“I had a hole in my tongue the size of a nickel, but nobody knew, so I couldn’t eat,” Davis said. She was admitted to Cabrini Hospital in 1999 by noted HIV doctor, Dr. Joseph Sonnabend. She had been around 95 pounds. After her stay in Cabrini for six and a half weeks, Davis began her slow recovery. Davis says her lifeline of support came from her church family at Canaan Baptist Church and pastor and Civil Rights pioneer Wyatt Tee Walker.
“Leadership and some of Canaan’s members helped me get through the stigma and shame of living with HIV and then being diagnosed with AIDS.”
She says it was at First Corinthians Baptist Church, which she joined in 2006, that she gained her motivation and has since been able to flourish as an activist travelling the world. Now Davis is an HIV/AIDS awareness advocate and has been a central figure in the New York area for more than 20 years, using her story to educate and help as many as she can.
In addition to spending time with her family, Davis takes pride in being a “connector” for community members for all types of resources, health-related and other areas.
“We’re all each other has [sic], and I can’t want better for my family if I don’t want better for your family,” Davis said. After being featured in the book, Souls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits, in 2000, Davis was inspired to become an advocate and share her testimony. She credits figures like Debra Fraser Howze, who both guided her and connected her with organizations like the National Black Commission on AIDS and Balm In Gilead, which trained her in becoming a better educator.
In 2006, Davis founded the nonprofit Can’t Be Silenced, to help in this work, as well as address communal issues.
Through a collaboration with Mount Sinai, Davis has been able to provide mammogram and screening vans, which had been sponsored by philanthropist Robert F. Smith. Much of her work includes attending communal events, such as in front of her church, First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, with her bullhorn providing information. It is also reminding people that HIV is not in the past, as African Americans continue to make up the highest number of new infections each year.
“AIDS is still here. It’s preventable,” Davis shared. “The numbers are going down. Yes, the medications are better, but…no one should have to go through this with HIV.” Davis has also used her music connections to bring entertainment such as Lyfe Jennings, Jim Jones, and Jadakiss to different events and nursing home visits.
On March 7, her organization is hosting an event titled “The Strategy” at A. Philip Randolph Senior Citizen Center to discuss health, housing, and civic engagement. Davis says the community must know the importance of civics, be aware of the levels of government, and know where to go for the problems they face.
“If you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice…that means you don’t matter.” Davis said. “We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines anymore. Everybody has to participate.”
Davis says those in the field are examining how to contend with the Trump administration’s cuts to resources. However, she notes there is a significantly greater amount available for people to take advantage of today than 30 years ago.
“For everything that is now, we had to fight back then,” Davis said. Davis recalls it was a fight for people “to hear our voices as women living with HIV and AIDS.”
“This illness does not define who you are. You still have a life. You just have a life with an illness that you’ll always have to take medication for.”