Samer Owaida discusses the history of the AIDS movement in the USA and links it to body politics in Palestine while uplifting Black and brown leadership during the 80s and 90s.

Samer Owaida is a grassroots organizer born in Palestine and raised in Chicago. He graduated in 2018 from Saint Xavier University with the award of Top Sociology Student. He used the grant money that came with the award to study in Palestine the following summer and produced qualitative and quantitative reports on several key issues taking place in the West Bank. Samer has worked closely with the Arab community as a case manager, and now resides in Edgewater as a member of grassroots organizations. Today, Samer works as the Community Client Housing Navigator at Chicago house, working closely to help individuals with chronic homelessness and a HIV+ status to find housing. Samer is also a Research Assistant at University of Illinois at UIC conducting research on the topic of HIV and immigration among gay or bisexual Arab men.