By Lee Dibben
Lee Dibben (@LE_Dibben) works on supporter engagement at GiveOut. Their background is in queer history, with a focus on gender, radical social movements, and youth organising in the late twentieth century. Lee holds an MA in Queer History from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has worked with several museums on public history projects aiming to bring queer stories and audiences into heritage spaces.
In recent weeks, many HIV/AIDS activists have been making the link between the AIDS crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing their knowledge about community mobilisation and solidarity, these activists have highlighted the importance of collective action during times of crisis.
However, with HIV and AIDS continuing to have a significant impact worldwide, it is important to remember that these health crises are distinct in many ways. In particular, prejudice and hate against the LGBTQI community, sex workers, drug users, people of colour, and other marginalised groups resulted in government negligence at the start of the AIDS crisis which cost thousands of lives across many countries. These groups are frequently seen as “expendable”, forcing AIDS activists to shoulder responsibility for educating and protecting their communities.
As a global community we have learned the power of solidarity and mutual support over decades of activism. We are therefore grateful to the activists who continue to share their knowledge and give their time to protect the lives, health and wellbeing of our community. In the face of this new challenge, here are five articles sharing lessons from AIDS activism which may inspire and help us during the current pandemic.
The opinions and views expressed in these articles are those of the authors and contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those of GiveOut.
How to survive a pandemic: HIV experts and activists on lessons learned. Tim Fitzsimons and Alexander Kacala.
“People were shooting in the dark, kind of like they’re shooting in the dark right now… There’s this huge emotional weight that surrounds this situation, we have to acknowledge that.”
Activists who worked to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s share their thoughts on the current COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on the need for both individual and collective action, they highlight the importance of having reliable information to empower individuals to take preventative measures. As well as this, they focus on the need to maintain community and build support networks during this challenging period.
Some notes on learning from AIDS activism for our responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Gary Kinsman.
“If people were going to be successful in combating AIDS they needed more wealth and resources, and these needed to come from the more wealthy countries in the ‘global north’.”
Gary Kinsman reflects on what can be learned from the history of AIDS organising and activism for the current pandemic, based on his extensive experience as an AIDS activist. Drawing striking parallels, he highlights the importance of collective responsibility, social support and solidarity. He argues that these things are essential to the health and wellbeing of our community during this period of physical distancing. In seeking to stand in solidarity with one another, Kinsman also notes that recognising structural and social inequalities and supporting our global community is of fundamental importance.
Trump is mishandling coronavirus the way Reagan botched the AIDS epidemic. Zack Beauchamp.
“We have resilience and an ability to respond and to organize and know what to do. But we also know what it’s like to watch your loved ones die.”
Zack Beauchamp interviews Gregg Gonsalves, a leading member of ACT UP in America during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. A professor of epidemiology at Yale University, Gonsalves reflects on similarities between the Reagan administration’s handling of the AIDS crisis, and the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19. He argues that the Trump administration’s response to this pandemic has been deeply concerning, repeating mistakes made during the AIDS epidemic. However, Gonsalves is also optimistic about the social solidarity shown in response to COVID-19, with both activists and individuals mobilising to support and protect their communities.
‘Unresolved grief’: coronavirus presents eerie parallels for many AIDS advocates. Peter Lawrence Kane.
“We saw some of the best in humanity. We saw neighbors helping neighbors… Some of the best examples of what it means to be a community were born there.”
Activists from San Francisco who lived through the AIDS crisis share their thoughts on the current COVID-19 pandemic. They note the way in which AIDS activists continue to play a large role in the response to COVID-19, both within the LGBTQI community and beyond. However, they also acknowledge that the two health crises are distinct, and highlight that living through another health crisis can bring up traumatic memories.
Coronavirus is different from AIDS. Paul M. Renfro.
“The history of HIV/AIDS diverges significantly from that of the new coronavirus, primarily because of the former’s inextricable association with historically subjugated population.”
Paul Renfro argues that comparisons between the COVID-19 pandemic and AIDS crisis can obscure key differences between the two. He notes that while there are parallels in the US federal governments’ responses to the two health crises, the AIDS epidemic was distinct in the way it affected already marginalised and reviled groups. Indeed, in contrast to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, prominent figures have been celebrated for being open about their COVID-19 diagnoses. Renfro therefore argues that it is important to remember this distinction so as not to erase the role of discrimination and hate in responses to the AIDS crisis.