Useful Links
HIV/AIDS, Gay Communities, and the Struggle for Gay Rights
http://digitalhistory.hsp.org/anonymous-no-more/essay/hivaids-gay-communities-and-struggle-gay-rights
The AIDS epidemic’s lasting impact on gay men
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/aids-epidemic-lasting-impact-gay-men/
LGBTQ History Month: The early days of America's AIDS crisis
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-history-month-early-days-america-s-aids-crisis-n919701
1981: Doctors identify first cases of what they term "Gay-Related Immune Deficiency" (GRID). Soon the disease's name is changed to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
1981: The Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press is founded by Barbara Smith, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Hattie Gossett, and Myrna Bain in New York City. That same year, Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua co-edit This Bridge Called My Back: The Writings of Radical Women of Color.
https://www.pbs.org/outofthepast/past/p6/1981_1.html
http://digitalhistory.hsp.org/anonymous-no-more/essay/hivaids-gay-communities-and-struggle-gay-rights
The AIDS epidemic’s lasting impact on gay men
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/aids-epidemic-lasting-impact-gay-men/
LGBTQ History Month: The early days of America's AIDS crisis
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-history-month-early-days-america-s-aids-crisis-n919701
1981: Doctors identify first cases of what they term "Gay-Related Immune Deficiency" (GRID). Soon the disease's name is changed to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
1981: The Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press is founded by Barbara Smith, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Hattie Gossett, and Myrna Bain in New York City. That same year, Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua co-edit This Bridge Called My Back: The Writings of Radical Women of Color.
https://www.pbs.org/outofthepast/past/p6/1981_1.html
Primary Sources
“AIDS Is an Illness of People of Color”: Health Service Organizations Advocate Increased Federal Funding to Prevent AIDS in Minority Communities
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6895
“A Time Bomb Inside of You”: Social Service Organizations Advocate an Improved Federal Response to AIDS
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6893
This Is Not a Gay Issue. This Is a Human Issue”: Early AIDS Patients Recount Their Experiences with the Disease
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6894
Primary Source Set: HIV/AIDS
https://www.glbthistory.org/primary-source-set-aids
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6895
“A Time Bomb Inside of You”: Social Service Organizations Advocate an Improved Federal Response to AIDS
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6893
This Is Not a Gay Issue. This Is a Human Issue”: Early AIDS Patients Recount Their Experiences with the Disease
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6894
Primary Source Set: HIV/AIDS
https://www.glbthistory.org/primary-source-set-aids
Lessons
The AIDS Epidemic (1 of 4): The Government’s Response
https://www.lgbtqhistory.org/lesson/aids-crisis-government-role-part-i/
Lesson Objectives: Students will:
● Analyze the ways that our government has a history of ignoring people on the margins of society, including gay people and people of color who were disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.
● Learn how ACT UP/NY borrowed activism tactics from movements of people of color by way of sit-ins, peaceful protests and violent protests.
● Examine sensationalism and how U.S. media uses this as a distraction from actual lives lost. Essential Questions:
1. Who is the US government supposed to serve and protect? Who does the US government actually serve and protect?
2. How do the opinions of AIDS differ from gay people and their allies, and straight people?
3. How does the lack of government response leave people of color out of the conversation?
Standards: HSS 11.11: Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.
The AIDS Epidemic (2 of 4): Activism and Marginalization – Voices Left Out
This lesson seeks to highlight the ways that people of color and women were marginalized within AIDS activism and AIDS federal research programs.
https://www.lgbtqhistory.org/lesson/aids-activism-part-ii/
Lesson Objectives: Students will:
● Learn about activist efforts made to bring the AIDS crisis into the American public’s consciousness
● Examine how activism can operate to reproduce inequalities by excluding marginalized groups
● Analyze how exclusion of marginalized groups in AIDS activism still has consequences today Essential Questions:
1. During the AIDS crisis, of those that did get attention, who were they? Were there any traits that they shared?
2. Who else was affected by the crisis but was not as prominent in the discussion?
3. How is the public informed about these kinds of issues? Who makes the decision on who gets seen and heard?
4. What prompted communities to respond to the crisis? What factors led to a response versus a dismissal? Do these factors provide a particular narrative? If so, who does the narrative serve?
HSS 11.11: Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.