The· Human immunodeficiency virus Appearing 40 years ago this month, it created an epidemic that still devastates the communities in which it was discovered.
June 5, 1981, Weekly morbidity and mortality reports Five healthy gay cis-gender men were diagnosed with pneumocystis pneumonia (a rare pneumonia commonly found in people with suppressed or weakened immunity), and two died, according to a report from the US Center for Disease Control Did. afterwards, July 3 That year, the New York Times reported that 41 cisgender gay men were diagnosed with the rare cancer Kaposi’s sarcoma. This was when it hit fans of the LGBTQ community, black and Latino communities, injectable drug users, and people with blood disorders who needed blood transfusions.
This history was mainly seen through the white lens, the disease is drawing attention to destroy Caucasian male And Movie-like cultural touchstone Philadelphia, About a gay white man with AIDS. However, it is known that HIV has affected black Americans in the United States since at least the 1960s. Trendy whitewashes help explain why today, Even if HIV / AIDS rates are declining across US, Black and Latin Americans They are eight and four times more vulnerable to HIV infection than white Americans, respectively, and as of 2019, in Philadelphia, nearly 64% of newly diagnosed cases were inhabitants of black cities. did. Ministry of Health data..
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Scientists only noticed until 1987 The first American to die of AIDS Probably a black teenager: 15 years old Robert Rayford From St. Louis, who died in May 1969. The care provider did not know exactly what killed him and saved his blood and other specimens. October 25, 1987, Chicago Tribune Rayford reported positive after death — his stored blood showed that he was infected with HIV.
HIV is at least today 32 million People all over the world. In 2018, 346 people died among people living with HIV in Philadelphia, and data from the Ministry of Health show that 57 people are HIV-related, indicating that the fight against the epidemic in the region is still ongoing. I will.
Louis Ortiz-Fonseca, The creator of the storytelling project Great BoysTells a more diverse story of the epidemic-affected people who lost his uncle, aunt, and father in AIDS, Digital Art Fellowship “Latinx / Black-Latinx Gay, Choir, Bisexual, Trance Men and Boa live with HIV between the ages of 21 and 35.”
” read more: I was convinced that AIDS hadn’t shaped me for years. I was wrong. | Outlook
Ortiz-Fonseca He was also HIV positive in 2005 at the age of 27. Born in North Philadelphia and Black Puerto Rico, Ortiz Fonseca has been working in a non-profit organization since the age of 15 and has experienced a “complex duality” that tests positive for HIV. Jose DemarcoThe Black Puerto Rican, also from West Philadelphia, tested HIV positive in 1991. ACT UP Philadelphia In 1996, DeMarco’s first direct action called attention to the imprisonment of comrades and ACT UP members. Gregory Smith.. Smith was an HIV-positive activist in Camden Prison who was convicted of attempted murder for biting an officer who knew he could infect him with HIV. Smith was sentenced to 13 years in prison and died of AIDS complications when he was imprisoned on November 10, 2003 at the age of 40.
Smith’s death was nationally licensed and reflected HIV phobia, as science shows HIV Not transmitted through saliva— And it also reflects the legacy of HIV criminalization.Conservative American Legislative Exchange Council “Insist on your position” The law was responsible Criminalization law Require HIV-positive people to disclose their condition before sexual activity and expose others to accusations of illness.
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This criminalization was folded in 1990 Ryan White Care MethodHas demanded that the state prosecute those who have “intentionally exposed” others to HIV in order to receive the coveted federal dollars to help those who live with HIV / AIDS. Even today, there are stigmas of crime related to HIV diagnosis.Mayor Jim Kenney publicly Disclosure The HIV status of former city officials charged with rape in 2017 violates privacy and irresponsibly links HIV status to assault.
But community leaders are giving reasons for hope. Tatiana Woodard, A black transgender woman from Nicetown, Ballroom House Escada, and Preventive Service Manager Mazzoni CenterShe said she has more programs available to community members and more leaders to reflect the community, and she is a rare transgender woman with managerial positions throughout the city. .. I believe more communities need to play a leadership role. “It’s very sad that we don’t have the opportunity to live here for work or other resources for transgender women,” she said, before anyone was tested for HIV. He added that there are other needs such as housing. , Food access, and support services to verify gender should be met.
As we move forward in our collective quest to end the HIV epidemic, can we remember the beautiful flowers that bloomed and wilted by AIDS and decide not to lose any more lives in the future?
Abdul-Aliy Muhammad is an organizer and writer born and raised in West Philadelphia. @MxAbdulAliy
