Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lamar McMullen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lamar, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I remember when I went to go get tested for STDs and HIV and it was my first time getting a test done and I was terrified because I knew the RISK that I put myself through in my addiction. When I took it, my test came back positive for HIV and I didn’t know what to do and I can end up with an incurable disease. I thought about suicide at that moment after the diagnosis and I heard a voice say to me “IF YOU TRUST AND BELIEVE ME, I GOT CHA”. I had to take a risk and believe that the God of my understanding was going to take care of me in the midst of it all.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Lamar McMullen and I am a 36 yr. old Bahamian American born in the late 80s, I am the Mpowerment Coordinator at Empower U Community Health Center where I can provide a safe space for the LGBTQIA Community to have safe conversations about HIV, STD, livelihood, and much more. I’m a Same Gender Loving (SGL) man of color, a recovering addict with 10 years clean from drugs and alcohol, and a Person THRIVING with HIV who is proud of who I am today.

“If you knew my story you would understand my experience,” says Lamar. The chair of the Miami Dade HIV/AIDS Partnership Community Coalition, a Community Advisory Board (CAB) member for the University of Miami, an National Community Advisory Board (NCAB) member for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS), and a recipient of many awards relating to HIV advocacy and has changed the game in so many ways.
I now am a GRIOT (African Storyteller) and being an African storyteller, I was part of a docu-film called “Outrun the Sky” that was recorded in Jan. of 2019 and finally released in June for National HIV Testing Day. The docu-film talks about drug addiction, suicide, abandonment issues, barriers, and more as it relates to the LGBTQ
community. All the brothers in the film came from the high 5 prevalent areas in the south (Miami,
Atlanta, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Jackson Mississippi).

The problems that I attempt to solve with the clients in the community are trying to get them on PrEP ( Pre-exposure prophylaxis) and breaking the STIGMA. some of my proudest moments in this field are when I have a client come to me and tell me their process and where they are in their life today… so I guess you can say ” A Praise Report”. I would like for the reader to understand that it is very IMPORTANT to know your status and why we promote the way we promote. Even though it may not seem risky, still get tested because it’s not only about HIV but also STDs, so PLEASE get tested.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My journey is one to remember because it’s my story… being diagnosed with HIV in mid-2012, trying to commit suicide right after, and hearing a still my voice tell me “If you trust and Believe Me, I got you” and not really knowing what it meant or how it will change forever. I went on still getting high after that diagnosis because it left me feeling guilty and shameful and then on January 25, 2013, my world drastically changed because my grandmother, my backbone, my heart and soul passed and I was devastated. After I buried her it was at that time that it felt like there was no purpose here in life since she had passed and her death left a hole in my heart. I then went into treatment 21 days later and since then I’ve been pushing, thriving, and being a change for not only me but for others just like me.

See the word Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands and for me, I do believe that I embrace a new journey every day, a new challenge every day and a better outlook on life daily which allows me to be of maximum service to those in need or that see a challenge.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would so choose the same profession simply because In this line of work, I have come across individuals that have inspired me to be my authentic self every day and for those of them that don’t like it, it is ok to be ok with their choices. See God has placed me in this line of work for a reason and I won’t take it back or change my experience. My experience has brought me to this place where I’m able to say “THANK YOU” every day for the ability to give back.

Just a year ago, a client came to me and asked why I was crying and I expressed that people don’t know what it took for me to get clean and what it takes for me to stay clean daily and her response was “If I would have not gotten clean and committed suicide, I would have not helped saved her life and countless others and of course I cried even harder, lol. It was in that authentic moment of me sharing that portion of me that I understood my purpose in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.euchc.org (work), www.urbanhp.org (work)
• Instagram: King_ McMullen
• Facebook: LJ McMullen
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/fnpDbDmy1O0