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Sunday Sundries: World AIDS Day 2024
On December 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) joins partners and communities to commemorate World AIDS Day 2024. Under the theme Take the rights path: My health, my right, WHO is calling on global leaders and citizens to champion the right to health by addressing the inequalities that hinder progress in ending AIDS.
December 1 is not only a call to activism and awareness on behalf of those living with HIV and AIDS, it’s a time to remember and honor lives lost to this pandemic.
Tom began setting up our tree a few days ago, while I unpacked ornaments. I took a photo of these.
The Santa was a gift to Tom and me from Amy after the three of us went to Washington, D.C., in 1996 to volunteer for the last full display of the NAMES Quilt. Steven’s House was a residential facility for people with HIV/AIDS where Tom volunteered his time for several years. The Support AIDS Research red ribbon fundraising ornament I bought from a national retailer (who now gets boycotted if they show compassion or support for the marginalized in their merchandise). Tom painted the little wooden ornament with the red ribbon for me one Christmas. The quilt ornament was a gift from my mother after she joined Tom, me, and several others–including Amy, Lynne, Nora, Vicki, Debby, and Lisa K–who assisted in making quilt panels that Tom and I gave to the NAMES Project (Tom donated his time to the Houston chapter for years).
Our panels:
The “Twelve Names” panel honors our friends Steve and Jeff, along with friends of friends: Fred, Dennis, Bill, Andy, Steven, and Jim were friends of Steve’s; Michael was Steve’s first boyfriend and Don was his partner who predeceased him; Jody, a high school friend of my co-worker Shawn; Ato was a friend of Tom and his family.
In addition, Tom, our friend James, and I hosted a gathering at The Compound to contribute our signed reflections about John, James’s partner and our beloved friend, to a panel created by the NAMES Foundation’s Pete Martinez.
Pete was tireless in the time and energy he gave on behalf of so many people who died because of AIDS and the partners, friends, and families they left behind. He was a good friend to Tom and me. Pete died in 2001, a loss to the community and to all those whose lives he impacted.
2 thoughts on “Sunday Sundries: World AIDS Day 2024”
This is such important social (and I am loathe to use the word) history – and LGBT history too. I do wonder if young LGBT people today even know about the AIDS crisis? From what I see online, many people behave as though it never happened – or that HIV is a thing of the past.
In some ways, I guess it’s a sign of progress in controlling the pandemic, that it doesn’t fully dominate their thoughts or experience now? Though that isn’t the case worldwide. But forgetting the history means not learning from it and using what’s been learned to address future health crises, much like the willful ignorance (and outright disinformation) surrounding COVID.
This is such important social (and I am loathe to use the word) history – and LGBT history too. I do wonder if young LGBT people today even know about the AIDS crisis? From what I see online, many people behave as though it never happened – or that HIV is a thing of the past.
In some ways, I guess it’s a sign of progress in controlling the pandemic, that it doesn’t fully dominate their thoughts or experience now? Though that isn’t the case worldwide. But forgetting the history means not learning from it and using what’s been learned to address future health crises, much like the willful ignorance (and outright disinformation) surrounding COVID.