Patricia Harriet Jackson was known fondly by many different names over the decades she spent as an HIV/AIDS educator at Montefiore’s Adolescent AIDS Program until her retirement in 2018. “Momma Pat” or “Mama Condom,” as she was affectionately dubbed, dedicated her life to helping people of color and LGBTQ+ youth in her native Bronx in the early 1990s and 2000s. “What she brought to the community, what she brought to the young people, it was invaluable,” said her former coworker, Lissette Marrero. “It’s just such a testament to who she was and how much she cared for people in general.” Born in Harlem Hospital and raised as a military brat, she was a “Bronx girl” to her core, according to her younger brother, Charles Shorter, who described her as a woman of faith who enjoyed traveling and living life to the fullest. Jackson, who suffered from several underlying conditions including lupus and diabetes, died from COVID-19 on April 7, 2020, at Einstein in the Bronx. She is survived by her brother; her son, Damian; and his family, and the “Village,” a close-knit group of friends.

“Pat was extremely giving of herself, very forthcoming, she didn’t pull punches. I think you could probably [call it] tough love. She would meet you right where you were at, but she’d tell you you needed to move.” — Charles Shorter, Patricia Harriet Jackson’s brother Written by Téa Kvetenadze