In four decades, AIDS has gone from a likely death sentence to a manageable condition that needn’t affect most patients’ life spans, health or pursuit of happiness.
None of this progress could have happened without education and action, largely on the part of the LGBTQ community which stood tall as others lagged.
In honor of World AIDS Day December 1, we’re remembering these eight moments when AIDS broke through to a new level of cultural awareness.
1. World AIDS Day
In 1988, the World Health Organization launched World AIDS Day to raise awareness and mourn those lost to the disease. Celebrated each year December 1, it encompasses events all around the world. (The red ribbon came three years later in 1991 and still stands as the universal symbol of AIDS awareness.) Use this interactive map to find an event near you, and don’t be afraid to hit that big red Donate button.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
You forget Ryan White, the teenage boy who bravely fought discrimination, ignorance, and bigotry. He put a face on this devastating plague that America had not seen before. Ryan showed AIDS was not solely a horrific plague that targeted Gay men. His sad death was covered by every major news outlet…
WashDrySpin
If this is World’s AIDS day…then share something other than white American AIDS information and icons…these are the same images…these are the same people…the same wealth…the same Hollywood…UGH!!!
Showcase the invisible people especially those of color who died from the disease and continue to die in America because of a lack of medical and treatment access…show the millions in Africa that continue to brace themselves with this disease…