Bishop Rainey Cheeks, D.C. LGBTQ+ Leader and Taekwondo Grandmaster, Dies at 74

Q: After his own quiet diagnosis, what radical steps did this taekwondo champion take to revolutionize HIV care for marginalized communities?

After learning he was HIV-positive in 1985, Rainey Cheeks responded by founding **Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.**, a groundbreaking organization built specifically to serve Black LGBTQ+ people and others marginalized by the mainstream health system. That was the radical step: he turned a private diagnosis into a public model of care that centered people who were often ignored or stigmatized. Rather than limiting the effort to awareness campaigns, he helped create a **multi-service, culturally responsive HIV program** that combined treatment and prevention with practical support people needed to survive and stay in care. Under his leadership, Us Helping Us expanded beyond HIV testing and education to include **treatment access, PrEP outreach, mental health counseling, substance-use services, housing assistance, and research partnerships**. Community accounts credit the group with establishing a more compassionate and holistic approach to HIV care in Washington, especially for Black gay men and the broader Black LGBTQ+ community. Cheeks also reinforced that work through **Inner Light Ministries**, the LGBTQ+-affirming church he founded in 1993, where he blended spiritual care, grief counseling, meditation, and inclusive ministry. Together, those institutions helped redefine HIV care as not just a medical issue, but a matter of dignity, community, and culturally grounded support.

2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 15

Rainey Cheeks, a ninth-degree black belt and bishop who became a pillar of Washington's LGBTQ+ community, has died at 74.
At 21, Cheeks won a bronze medal at the inaugural World Taekwondo Championships before rising to grandmaster status in the sport.
Beyond martial arts, he was widely known in Washington for confronting the AIDS crisis and for his leadership in the city's LGBTQ+ community.