Our Story

In 2019, Apostle A. Marquis Hairston, Sr., Founder & Senior Pastor of The City Church of Charlotte, North Carolina established the City Nation, Inc. as an advocacy non-profit in order to address systemic issues of racism, sexism, and discrimination on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation, especially in communities of color.

Converging at the intersection of faith and social justice, the City Nation began addressing issues of food, clothing, and housing insecurities; internalized homophobia, xenophobia, and transphobia; and health-related issues in the lives of those living with HIV/AIDs in LGBTQ communities of color.

In an effort to do more than just "church", the City Nation addresses the care of its constituents by focusing on eight areas of wellness:

Physical Wellness
Emotional Wellness
Intellectual Wellness
Social Wellness
Spiritual Wellness
Environmental Wellness
Occupational Wellness
Sexual Wellness

One of the main focuses of the City Nation is eradicating HIV/AIDs and associated stigmas in communities of color. To do this, the City Nation launched and continues to expand its flagship initiative, The Plus+ Project, which provides HIV testing, linkage to medical care, and education on HIV in order to stop the spread of the virus and to put an end to the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDs.