World AIDS Day and My Amazing Husband

Today, of course, is World AIDS Day, though I am waiting for the time we won't need to acknowledge it other than to remind  ourselves of what once was our lives, but last night, in Columbia, they held a Keep the Promise/End the epidemic event at the statehouse.

And my husband spoke on behalf of the Hispanic community in our state, which,sadly, is raked 8th in new HIV cases in this country.

And, because of his eyesight issues, and because it was dark by the time he spoke, the emcee of the event introduced him  and then helped Carlos walk to the podium to speak. His speech was entirely in Spanish except for the first line:

"I am have failing eyesight but I still have my vision."

In the audience, an elder queerling was snapping pictures and getting teary eyed.

Just sayin'.

I am so proud of my husband.

Keep The Promise March On The South

This past weekend Carlos and I took part in the Keep The Promise March on HIV/AIDS in Atlanta. Why Atlanta, you may ask? Is it because the ATL has a thriving gay community, many of whom could be at risk for HIV/AIDS?

Kind of, but then again.

The good news is that HIV/AIDS infection rates are falling all across the United States, but they are, in fact, rising rather dramatically in the southern US. And while deaths from AIDS complications either fell or held steady in other parts of the country from 2001 to 2006--the last year complete figures were available--they rose by more than 10% in the South.

An update to a 2002 report that identified the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS in the South--defined as Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.--found that:

• Although those Southern states are home to only 36% of the nation’s population, some 50% of all US AIDS deaths in 2005 were in the South, and more than half of all Americans with HIV lived in the region in 2006.
• Nine of the 15 states with the highest HIV diagnosis rates are in the South.
• More than 40% of all new infections are in the South.
• Of the 20 metropolitan areas with the highest rates of AIDS cases in 2006, 16 were in the South.
• African-American women are 83% of all [new] cases in the South, and the new epidemic is young people between 22 and 24.

AIDS specialists cite some of the reasons for the rise in new HIV/AIDS cases:

• Unequal government funding of anti-AIDS programs; for years a majority of the funding has gone to major metropolitan areas, and now that those areas are seeing a decline in new HIV/AIDS cases, the funding hasn't shifted to areas in need.
• Economics; the South is home to a great many low income people who cannot afford testing or treatment
•  Cultural; many parents in the South are in denial that their children are having sex;  religion also plays a part, in the notion that "good Christians" do not have sex outside, or before, marriage, and many churches refuse to even acknowledge the issue exists
• Transportation issues; many Southerners live in very rural areas without direct access to hospitals or medical facilities
• Translation; there is an increase of Hispanics in the South, and the language barrier makes education and treatment difficult., lack of access to proper health care
• Education plays a particularly important role in fighting HIV in rural communities where there is a strong “It can’t happen to me" factor.
• And even though the numbers show that HIV/AIDS numbers are on the rise in the South, there has been no increase in funding for the Southern states.

There is a call for more “age-appropriate, science-driven education for prevention of all sexually transmitted diseases,” along with increased federal funding for “prevention, treatment and care."

Fear seems to be the most prevalent reason for the spread of HIV/AIDS from what Carlos has found as an HIV outreach Counselor. People live in fear that they may have "it" so they refuse to get tested. The stigma of being HIV+ is huge in rural communities, religious communities, the Black community, making it hard for people to want to get tested or to seek treatment.

All in all, this crisis, which seems to be abating in other parts of the country, in on the rise in the South, and people here could die because they are afraid of a simple test. There is treatment, there is care, and there is prevention, but we need education and we need funding.

Keep the Promise.

source

Keep The Promise On HIV/AIDS March On Washington

So, here are some of the pictures—as well as my oh-so-informative commentary—about last weekend’s Keep The Promise on HIV/AIDS rally and march in Washington DC.

Before the march, there was a quick registration and the handing off of a red umbrella, which would be used in creating a huge AIDS Ribbon at the foot of the Washington Monument.

The rally featured emcee Margaret Cho, a keynote speech by former Ambassador Andrew Young—who seemed more intent, to me, on replaying his connection with Martin Luther King Jr.—Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West, and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

In the interests of fairness, I have never been a fan of Sharpton; I’ve always felt that his activism might be more self-promoting than needed, but he gave quite the fiery speech about HIV/AIDS, activism, the Black community and the rise in infections among African-Americans. He clearly drove home what, for me, was a most vital point, that this is not a “gay” thing, or a “male” thing, or a “white” thing; it knows no color, no gender, no ethnicity, no religion, no age, no social boundary, no wealth, no poverty.

Music was provided Wyclef Jean, and, as you can see, I got rather up close to the man backstage. He’s quite delicious, but, for me, the hottie of the event—and you had to know I was gonna get shallow at some point—was Billy, the sign language interpreter. Billy was hot. Billy was way hot. And when Billy was signing while Wyclef spoke, Billy proved to be quite the dancer.

Billy was hot. Did I mention that?

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah….Some of the speakers criticized President Obama—and rightly so I think—for not appearing at the rally. Now, he’d made no plans to attend, though he did send a recorded message to, the AIDS conference that began the next day, and, on the day of the event, he was in Aurora speaking to victims of the shooting out there; in fact, Marine One, possibly with Obama on board, flew over the Mall at one point during the afternoon.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation [AHF], which organized the rally and march, has repeatedly criticized the White House for what it says is the Obama administration’s inadequate response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition to the president’s decision not to speak in person at AIDS 2012, he was criticized for cutting funding to the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and was also accused of not doing enough to eliminate AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] waiting lists.

I will, however give Obama his due, because this is the first time since 1990 that the International AIDS Conference was held in the United States. Previously, it had been held outside the country because a ban had been placed on people with HIV entering the U.S. That ban was lifted in 2010 by President Obama, "finishing a process begun under [Yes] the Bush administration."

I was able to meet AHF President Michael Weinstein during the march. He is deeply concerned that, in the South, AIDS and HIV infection are on the rise, and wants to plan a march in Atlanta in the future, and maybe some smaller marches at other cities in the South. Due to religious bias, and deeply rooted conservatism, masking as denial, talking about HIV/AIDS is almost unheard of, and education, treatment, outreach, etc, are almost non-existent.

Speaker Tavis Smiley said, of Obama, ““No matter how well-intentioned he is, no matter how much better he is than the other choice, he will end up another garden variety politician. He will be transactional and not transformational if we don’t… in the spirit of love hold him accountable.”

Dr Cornel West spoke fiercely about how homophobia within the black community impacts the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country: “We got to recognize that homophobia is as evil as white supremacy, as male supremacy, as anti-Jewish hatred, anti-other bigotry and anti-Islam sensibility. We want integrity and consistency and the only way to get it is you’ve got to bear witness.”

But, as I said, I was most surprised by Sharpton, who said, of the Black community, as well as the religious community, “They have not dealt with the issue because of their own bias and their own homophobia and their own misconception of what this is. Jesus healed people. He didn’t interview people. He never asked people why they were sick, all he asked is do you want to be made whole. Your job reverend, your job rabbi, your job imam is not to condemn people; it’s to heal people. And if you’re not down with the healing, you need to turn in your collar and get another kind of vocation.”

Margaret Cho said, “There’s this idea that AIDS is gone, it’s over. A lot of young people are not paying attention to the way I was raised with it. In my culture there was so much fear around it. There was a lot of not knowing the facts. At this point in time, 30 years later, the fear has subsided. It’s become a kind of apathy.”

Cho also spoke about how impactful a simple march can be—she attended the Millennium March for LGBT Rights back in 2000: “Every time there’s a march on Washington, it is really an inspiring thing. It was so amazing and I really feel like that march really led to people starting to realize that gay marriage can happen and now we’re seeing that over the last 12 years. It’s taken 12 years, but we’re starting to see it happen. That was I think a catalyst. When we have a march on Washington — and this is solely devoted to awareness, AIDS awareness, AIDS education and really just healing this city — that’s really powerful.”

Enough chatter, let’s look at some pictures…..

Creating the Ribbon

The Ribbon on the Jumbotron

Hot Billy

Margaret Cho

Up close with Wyclef

Wyclef onstage

The Rev. Al Sharpton

Jorg Fockele, the documentarian.

Keep The Promise March On Washington: The AIDS Memorial Quilt

It was a fantastic weekend, a long weekend, a weekend filled up nearly every minute with things to do and see sand say. I was so happy to lend my voice and my presence to a cause that asks our government, and governments round the world, to stop cutting funding for AIDS research, for HIV medications, for the AIDS Drug Assistance program [ADAP] which helps thousands of people get their very expensive HIV medications without winding up in the poor house. And since HIV and AIDS aren't going away--any time soon, at least--we need to keep vigilant, and keep our voices heard, and our presence felt, and our votes counted.
But......for me, what brought the whole weekend home, was, once again, viewing the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Several panels were on display during the Keep The Promise rally on Sunday, but on Monday, the official start of a weeklong global AIDS  conference in Washington, DC, a much larger portion of the quilt was laid out on the Capitol Mall.
I have seen pieces in San Francisco, and I have seen pieces in Miami, but I have never seen this much of the quilt on display at any one time, and even this large installation was a fraction of the 48,000 panels created by friends and loved ones, lovers, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and children of those who lost the battle with AIDS.
Had a panel been made for all those who died from complications of AID--through 2008--in the US alone, the Quilt would comprise 617.000 panels. There are roughly 34 million people around the world living with HIV. Think about that Quilt as you look at the pictures.
The AIDS Quilt is a visually striking monument, a movable monument, and it's impossible not to stand in front of it, reading the names of total strangers, without crying. For me, what I felt this time seeing it, was a vast sense of loss. I saw so many names of men who were born the same year as I, yet whose lives ended over twenty years ago.
There but for the grace of God.......
So, I'd like to share some picture from the quilt. Most panels are three-feet by six-feet, though some are larger; most panels have one name on them, though some have many; some panels are elaborate works or art, while others are actual quilts, with remembrances of those who've already gone on, and some are simple and barren and sparse.
And yet each one is as powerful and moving and thought-provoking as the last one and the next one.
Here's the Quilt, and the hope that one day there won't be any additional panels....

for more information The Names Project--The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Keep The Promise

Last Saturday night Carlos and I attended the AIDS Benefit Foundation of South Carolina's  Dining with Friends Dessert Finale, which was held in a sky-box at the University of South Carolina's William Bryce Stadium. 

It was a celebration of another successful Dining with Friends event, with cocktails and music, and desserts from some of South Carolina's best pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

There were booths set up to learn more about HIV/AIDS in the south, and specifically South Carolina, where HIV/AIDS is on the rise, especially in women.

One of the booths, run by a friends of Carlos', was the Keep the Promise booth. On July 22, 2012, there will be a “Keep the Promise” March and Rally to bring together thousands of AIDS advocates in the heart of Washington, DC prior to the opening of the 2012 International AIDS Conference. The aim of the rally and march is to remind world leaders and policy makers that the AIDS epidemic remains a global threat to public health. Without more resources for treatment, care, prevention and cost-effective interventions, progress achieved over the past 30 years of combating AIDS could be lost.

The “Keep the Promise” March seeks to refocus public attention on the lack of access to HIV testing, treatment and prevention--in December, in South Carolina, for example, there were less than 100 people on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] and yet by the 1st of March that number had risen to over 400.

While recent scientific discoveries show that treatment as prevention has the potential to one day end the AIDS epidemic, political will and financial resources must go hand-in-hand with science to make this vision a reality.

Carlos and I are trying to attend the march. There are programs to help people pay for, or at least defray, the cost of the trip to DC, as well as offering room and borad for two nights.

If you'd like more information, or would like to attend, please go to Keep The Promise 2012.