from grid to prep: where we've been and where we're going in the hiv epidemic 

Overview:

Contrary to popular belief, the first recorded death related to AIDS in the United States was in the year of 1969, not in the 80s. HIV/AIDS in the US from its beginning was treated as a "gay disease" down to its original naming being GRID or Gay Related Immune Deficiency. It is not just the "gay" aspect of this story that drives historical negligence of fighting this disease. Once discovered that it was not only gay men who were dying due to AIDS, it was discovered that the disease thrived among particular groups of people including those who inject drugs, but also among people of color.

While one could make the argument that the bias against the LGBT community was mainly at fault for the negligent attitudes of the government at the time, it is not without question that there was also other forms of bigotry at play including racism and classism.

This lesson will focus on the history of the HIV epidemic as it has occurred within the United States, and on the activism that sprang out of this major disaster. There will be a focus on the gay rights within this event, but it will still make mention of the other disproportionately affected groups as mentioned above. 

My name is Siegfried Schaefer and I am currently a senior at Montclair State University majoring in German with a minor in Myth Studies. Professionally I am still unsure of what I would like to do, but I know that I would like to work for some sort of social justice related organization.

I write freelance for Out in Jersey magazine, an LGBT focused publication with its base in Trenton, NJ. I mostly do book reviews but I have some profiles on prominent Jersey figures such as Chris Hillmann and Kathy Ahearn-O'Brien published. Currently I am working on a piece about first Dune book as the second part came out in the movies just recently.