Bay Area Reporter - December 6, 2007
Seth Hemmelgarn

But keynote speaker Charles King, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2002 and has been active in the fight against AIDS since the 1980s, said many in the gay community have done just that. And he was very clear about what he thinks the reason is.

"AIDS is no longer so much a gay disease in the United States as it is a disease of race and poverty," King, who is gay, said. "And that brings to light a dirty secret about the organized and politically engaged community. We are overwhelmingly white and reasonably well-off, and our movement is almost exclusively about rights for ourselves and people like us."

Most of the people in the audience of about 200 were white and appeared to be old enough to remember a time when effective treatment wasn't yet available. That was a time, when, as one attendee put it, AIDS turned people into "walking skeletons" and the purple lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma signaled near certain death.

King, who worked with the group ACT UP and is currently president and CEO of Brooklyn, New York-based Housing Works, the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the country, is white himself. He said as AIDS has increasingly affected blacks and, to a lesser extent, Latinos, white people have abandoned them to fight for same-sex marriage.

"I want gay marriage as much as the next person, but it can't just be about my rights," said the 52-year-old King.

Calling himself an "extremely privileged person," King said he has "great health insurance," and noted he personally knows "some of the best AIDS specialists in the world."

However, he said, many people now becoming infected don't have access to health care or treatment. Citing a 2004 study by the Institute of Medicine, King said, "Less than 50 percent of the people living with HIV here in the United States have access to primary care."

King also cited recent statistics that have made news. The Washington Post reported December 1 that epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are estimating the number of new HIV infections each year in the United States range from 55,000 to 60,000, rather than the 40,000 they'd previously estimated.

Also, UNAIDS recently announced the number of people living with AIDS worldwide is about 33 million, rather than the approximate 40 million it had previously reported. The organization also has reported 2.5 million people die from AIDS each year, rather than the 3 million it had previously estimated.

King noted the decreases were hardly causes for celebration. They "had little to nothing to do with any meaningful success in our efforts to end the disease" and were "largely due to statistical adjustments," he said.

It's been estimated that about 1,000 people in San Francisco become infected with HIV each year.

King also had blunt words for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). First, there was Pelosi's support of the decision of openly gay Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) to exclude transgender people from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. King said it was a prime example of how people who are regarded as "other" are treated as "expendable."

King also said the community let Pelosi add $28 million to the federal government's funding of abstinence-only education without "raising a howl." Abstinence-only education has been promoted by conservatives as a way to prevent teen pregnancy and HIV transmission. King said it doesn't work, and the money will "fund the infrastructure of a right-wing movement dedicated to our destruction."

Pelosi was not at the event, but many have credited her with saving lives through her work on AIDS legislation. She issued a statement before the event in which she referred to several congressional efforts designed to help people with HIV and AIDS.

One of them is the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which Pelosi introduced almost 10 years ago. The act, which is currently stalled, would expand Medicaid coverage to people living with HIV who don't yet have AIDS. In the statement, Pelosi said, "We must pass this bill and we will."

King's comments on Pelosi received tepid applause, and only half of the people in the audience gave him a standing ovation. But after the event, many expressed appreciation for what he'd said.

Rich Brown, who is black, said King's comments were "a wake-up call."

"We still have people dying," Brown said. "W need to help people who can't help themselves because of poverty and racism."

The theme for the day was the "Many Faces of AIDS."

King told the Bay Area Reporter he is aware there are many AIDS service organizations that strive to help all demographic groups. He said his comments were intended for constituents of state and national LGBT advocacy groups such as the Human Right Campaign.

"They've become almost exclusively focused on things like gay marriage ... and employment discrimination," King said of the groups. "Those are all very important, but that focus has come at the cost of a focus on AIDS."

Brad Luna, HRC communications director, wrote in an e-mail that, "Confronting HIV/AIDS is among HRC's top priorities. The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a national crisis, particularly among gay and bisexual men and communities of color. HRC works daily to advocate for increased funding for HIV prevention, care and treatment, and research programs."

This work includes trying to protect funds for the Ryan White CARE Act and needle exchange programs, he said. Luna also wrote HRC is trying to stop taxpayer funding of abstinence-only programs.

Brinker honored

At the event, there was also acknowledgment of people who've worked locally to help others. Ruth Brinker was recognized for starting Project Open Hand more than 20 years ago. The agency delivers about 2,400 meals a week to people living with illnesses such as HIV and cancer. Brinker, who began the organization by preparing meals for neighbors with AIDS, said, "I'm so glad I was able to help so many people and everything went so smoothly."

Wells Fargo, which co-sponsored the event, was recognized for its ongoing support for AIDS funding and awareness, as well as its many contributions to the AIDS Memorial Grove.

Mario Diaz, Wells Fargo Foundation manager serving the San Francisco Bay Area, wrote in an e-mail that Wells Fargo is "very honored" by the recognition. According to Diaz, the company has contributed more than $12.5 million to HIV/AIDS nonprofits since 1990.

Saturday's event came at a time when many people were thinking of loved ones. Dianne Boate had two sons, and she lost them both to AIDS. The first son died in 1986 at the age of 28, and the second son died in 1992, just two days before his 32nd birthday.

Boate said she gets "a little emotional" sometimes, but "I don't think we can live in what might've been. We have to live now."

Other activities

Also on the weekend of World AIDS Day, the Stop AIDS Project marked its 10th year of giving out free condoms at bars and clubs throughout San Francisco. The group traveled to spots in the Castro, South of Market, and Polk Street neighborhoods Friday and Saturday night to distribute hundreds of condoms.

At The Cafe on Market Street Friday night, Stop AIDS deputy director Jason Riggs said the group frequently gets calls from bars when they run out of condoms.

"When we first started, it was revolutionary to pass out free condoms. ... Now, it's just a matter of course," Riggs said.

Since the program started, more than 10 million condoms have been distributed, Riggs said.

For more information on fighting AIDS, visit the Campaign to End AIDS at www.c2ea.org.

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