On Dec. 1, to mark World AIDS Day, President Bush found something positive to say in public about the LGBT community for what may be the first time in nearly five years in office. Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. to highlight the United States s work in combating the global AIDS epidemic, Bush paused
Nearly seven months after extending a formal welcome to gay and lesbian students in its nondiscrimination policy, Boston College pulled the plug on an AIDS benefit dance organized by students, citing concern that it would be an endorsement of [a] lifestyle that is in conflict with church teaching, according to B.C. spo
When a handful of volunteers founded Massachusetts Asians and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health back in 1993 to address HIV and AIDS in the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) community, they found that many of the gay and bi API men most at risk for infection were unreachable through their own social networks. To find them,
There s a needle protruding from my third eye and I feel great. Laying alone in a darkened treatment room at Pathways to Wellness, a sense of deep relaxation and well-being is spreading through my insides. Besides the one stuck in my forehead (for the uninitiated, that s the acupuncture point for the third eye) hair-th
For the 14th year, the Boston Center for the Arts and Medicine Wheel Productions, Inc. will present Medicine Wheel, an interactive art exhibit, which ends with a 24-hour vigil on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, at the BCA s Cyclorama. Medicine Wheel is a room-sized work of art created by Michael Dowling. He first developed the
Massachusetts Asians and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health will hold Putting Health on the Map, a cocktail reception and awards ceremony Dec. 1 to mark its 10th anniversary as well as to commemorate World AIDS Day. MAP for Health was founded 10 years ago to address HIV and AIDS in Boston s Asian/Pacific Islander (API)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report Nov. 18 showing the results of their national HIV surveillance from 2001 to 2004, and as in previous studies the report found that male-to-male sexual contact was the highest mode of transmission, accounting for 44 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cas
The state House of Representatives passed a landmark clean needle access bill 115-37 the evening of Nov. 14, setting the stage for the beginning of a program that AIDS Action Executive Director Rebecca Haag called the single most important HIV prevention program in Massachusetts in the last 10 years. A vote in the Sena
Calling for bold thinking and a new innovative approach to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, AIDS Action Committee Executive Director Rebecca Haag said her organization is partnering with AIDS service organizations nationwide to develop a strategic plan aimed at stopping the disease. Haag discussed the initiative at AAC s Nov. 1
Meg Sanders may have only been 23 years old when she died in a tragic biking accident Sept. 22, but during her short life her passionate activism on a variety of causes, particularly around HIV/AIDS, changed lives around the state. An avid cyclist, Sanders, an East Hampton resident, channeled her passion for riding int
The issue of recognition of same-sex couples and their families after disasters is a familiar one for LGBT people. After 9/11, the Red Cross recognized the same-sex partners of victims in the attacks only after heated criticism from the LGBT community. This time the community has been proactive, and the National Youth
For the gay college students arriving in Boston for the first time this month, there may be an orientation program to show them the campus, but there is no gay orientation to show them the ins and outs of the Boston area s LGBT community. The Men s Action Life Empowerment (MALE) Center, a wellness and resource center f
A group of 25 cyclists will ride across Massachusetts and Rhode Island Sept. 7-11, but the efforts of those riders will be felt far beyond New England s borders. The ninth Ride for AIDS Resources (Ride FAR 9), the country s first AIDS bike ride event, is expected to take in $100,000, all of which goes to the beneficiar
Douglas Brooks learned a few things about social justice growing up in Macon, Ga. He learned that his grandparents founded a school for black children there, nearly a century ago. He and his two siblings were often told, that we were quote blessed and it was our responsibility to give back to those who weren t; to give
The Boston AIDS Consortium will hold a conference Sept. 15 and 16 focusing on the epidemic within communities of color, and several workshops throughout the conference will focus on LGBT people of color. Parita Patel, the conference coordinator, said the conference would bring HIV/AIDS service providers and consumers t
It takes dedication to cycle across the length of Massachusetts to support HIV/AIDS services, but it takes courage and fortitude to do so in 90-degree heat, torrential downpours, and ferocious thunderstorms. Unfortunately, that s just what the participants in the second annual Mass Red Ribbon Ride had to contend with a
Nearly 200 cyclists will trek from the Berkshires across the state to the suburbs of Boston Aug. 13 and 14 to raise money for HIV/AIDS service providers in the second annual Mass Red Ribbon Ride. Thus far riders have raised over $250,000, and ride manager Andi Genser said organizers hope to raise more than $400,000 as
A new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released Aug. 8 shows that many of the people most at risk for HIV, including gay and bi men, are misinformed about HIV vaccine trials. Yet more than any other group at risk, men who have sex with men (MSM) are most willing to take part in research. According to th
Less than three weeks before the Mass Red Ribbon Ride, a two-day AIDS charity bike ride across the state, the event s top fundraiser, Shawn Fields-Berry, 45, was struck by a car while he was riding in Duxbury July 27. Fields-Berry returned home from the hospital to East Bridgewater with his wife, Deborah, July 31, but
When he traveled from his hometown of San Francisco to Guatemala on a humanitarian aid trip in the spring of 2004 Jeff Cotter was struck by how often he ran into ordinary people doing extraordinary things. There was the Guatemalan woman concerned about the lack of healthcare in her community, so she recruited a group o
In this age of crystal meth addiction, AIDS fatigue, and endless studies showing rising rates of HIV infection among gay and bi men, the news in the San Francisco Chronicle July 20 that city health officials believe HIV infection rates may be decreasing was an unexpected piece of good news. Last February a New York Tim
Lawrence v. Texas, 2003: Justice Sandra Day O Connor joined with the majority in overturning Texas anti-gay sodomy statute. But she disagreed with the majority, which found that the law violated the U.S. Constitution s guarantee of due process. In her concurring opinion, O Connor made clear that her decision was based
Name: Alan Arthur Chiras Birth date: May 26, 1961, which meant that when I was a Boy Scout in my youth I had to march in Memorial Day parades on my birthday. Sign: Gemini. My astrological sign holds no significance for me. Current residence: Worcester, Massachusetts, near WPI s football field. Ethnic roots: Half French
At a forum held the evening of June 9 at the Boston Living Center, Jhamaul Thomas, a peer leader and youth program coordinator for Men of Color Against AIDS (MOCAA), told a crowd of about 15 other gay, bisexual and transgender men of color that as a young person he was uncomfortable with promiscuity in the gay male com
The Tragedy of Today s Gays, By Larry Kramer with a Foreword by Naomi Wolf and an Afterword by Rodger McFarlane; Tarcher/Penguin, trade paperback, 128 pages, $9.95 Publication Date: April 2005. Larry Kramer has always had a knack for saying things that people don t want to hear. In 1978, this Oscar-nominated scriptwrit
At the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, held June 12-15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations presented the most up-to-date research on the HIV epidemic across the country, and the numbers show that gay and bi men are still being infected at staggering rates. M
AIDS Action Committee (AAC) pulled out all the stops promoting its 20th annual AIDS Walk, and the effort paid off: more than $1.1 million was raised for AAC, exceeding the $1 million raised in 2004. More than 15,000 people participated in either the walk or AAC s 5K run, braving 90-degree temperatures to raise money to
Lee James, one of the founders of Unity Pride, said the yearly celebration of Boston s black LGBT community is at a crossroads, both in terms of its structure and its identity. Since its founding six years ago the event has existed as a program of Men of Color Against AIDS (MOCAA), which in turn became a program of the
As chairperson of the Harbor to the Bay AIDS bike ride, which has run for two years, Jim Morgrage has helped raise more than a quarter of a million dollars for AIDS service organizations in Boston and Cape Cod. Morgrage says he is grateful for the recognition, but he wishes that the late Michael Tye, who first conceive
Ask Jim McDonnel, a 69-year-old Jamaica Plain resident, why he takes part in AIDS Action s AIDS Walk every year, rain or shine, and he will tell you a story about an Old South Church prayer meeting that changed his life. In 1989 McDonnel, who served as a deacon at Old South Church, attended a prayer meeting for people
Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health launched the first television ads in Boston aimed at educating the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community on HIV and AIDS. At a May 19 press conference to premiere the ads Jacob Smith Yang, MAP for Health s executive director, said the ads were developed in
What s the biggest factor that leads gay and bi men to have risky sex? Some would say it s the influence of crystal methamphetamine and other club drugs. Others say it s the fatigue men feel after two decades of being forced to use condoms. AIDS Action Founding Director Larry Kessler, who has fought on the front lines
When Meg Sanders sent out fundraising letters for the Mass Red Ribbon Ride last year, she reopened some old wounds. As a child growing up in Tennessee she watched both her parents die from complications from AIDS in the early 90s after her father, a closeted gay man, unknowingly passed the virus onto her mother. Sander
Last week the Associated Press reported that the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) was set to implement a policy that would ban gay men from serving as anonymous sperm donors, and since then other stories in papers like the Washington Post, have warned that gay sperm would be unwelcome at sperm banks. Yet to accordi
Craig Miller never intended for his April 25 three-page letter of resignation from the AIDS Action Foundation Board of Directors to be made public, but once it was posted on POZ magazine s Web site after POZ publisher Sean Strub obtained a copy, his criticisms of AIDS Action were broadcast far and wide. Chief among the
Grace Sterling Stowell has been with BAGLY from the beginning, firs as an adult advisor and now as executive director. Grace Sterling Stowell has been with BAGLY from the beginning, firs as an adult advisor and now as executive director. Today s incarnation of the Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (BAGLY) runs l
Crystal methamphetamine and barebacking have made the news in recent months, with reports coming out of New York City of an alleged HIV superbug that may have been spread among gay men through meth-fueled unprotected sex (see Superbug Fallout , March 10). Like New York, Boston s gay male community has been grappling wi
Tweakers: How Crystal Meth Is Ravaging Gay America By Frank Sanello; Alyson Publications, trade paperback, 264 pages, $15.95; Publication Date: February 2005 Studies have shown that gay people tend to smoke, drink and do drugs more than most people, but considering the stress and prejudice that many of us have to deal
Nearly 150 community activists and community members affected by HIV/AIDS attended the annual Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast, now in its 16th year, last Saturday. The breakfast, which was titled Bittersweet 16: Wake Up, Everybody! was held at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, and was created by AIDS Action Com
After a lengthy search, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) has hired Lee Swislow to be its new executive director. Swislow, most recently the vice president of Justice Resource Institute Health Programs, has extensive experience with nonprofits and has spent much of her career advocating for GLBT people and
As the world mourns Pope John Paul II, many in the GLBT community find it hard to join in the chorus of loving tributes. Since the pope s election in 1978, one of the most consistent features of his tenure has been his dogged opposition to GLBT rights, and as the world s most visible religious leader the pope s words c
With four months to go before the second annual Mass Red Ribbon Ride, ride manager Andi Genser said organizers are on track to surpass last year s event in terms of fundraising; currently 95 riders have signed up to take part, twice as many as the total number of riders in 2004. The 175-mile ride, which takes place Aug
On March 28 Project ABLE (AIDS Budget Legislative Effort) will host a lobby day at the Statehouse to demand increased HIV/AIDS funding in the state budget for fiscal year 2006 (FY06). The lobby day kicks off at 10 a.m. with speakers in Nurses Hall, including Sen. President Robert Travaglini (D- Cambridge), Rep. Liz Mal
AIDS Action will open the MALE (Men s Action Life Empowerment) Center, a wellness center for men who have sex with men (MSM), sometime at the end of April, although no official opening date had been set by press time. The center s director, Benjamin Perkins, said the center will offer programming on subjects ranging fr
The AIDS Action Committee has a variety of different volunteer opportunities. Those who have shopped at AIDS Action s Boomerangs resale stores in Jamaica Plain and Alston might try spending time working the other side of the counter as a volunteer store clerk. For those who want a more personal connection to their volu
It s so nice to see Congress engaged with issues like the abuse of steroids by professional athletes and wrenching familial disputes over feeding tubes. It shows they re at least capable of convening hearings and taking action. Which you wouldn t know if you were judging Congress solely by its inability to take action
-- Activists say battle against AIDS won t be won until homophobia ends in black churches AIDS activists last week called on black ministers to end homophobia in their churches during a forum on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the African-American community. During the discussion, sponsored by the Bayard Rustin
Name: Andi Genser Birth date: March 13, 1952 Current residence: Brookline, Mass. Ethnic roots: I m Jewish. My family has Eastern European roots. Did they come here early enough to avoid World War II? Yes. E-mail address: agenser@aac.org Occupation: I m the manager of the Mass Red Ribbon Ride, a grassroots AIDS fundrais
Twenty-one years ago, this newspaper ran an interview with Larry Kessler, who was then the director of the AIDS Action Committee, which had been around for all of two years. Knowing what we know now about how AIDS was to decimate a generation of gay men, ravage the African-American community and leave untold numbers of
On Feb. 11 the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) sounded a warning about a new, more deadly form of HIV, and the world took notice. Dr. Thomas Frieden, the commissioner of DOHMH, went public with a case involving a 40-year-old gay man carrying a strain of the HIV virus that is resistant to t
Make a difference in the fight against AIDS! Mass Red Ribbon Ride 2005 A collaborative ride benefiting AIDS Organizations August 13-14, 2005 http://www.massredribbonride.org/site/PageServer
On January 20, when Republicans from around the country travel to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the inauguration of President George W. Bush, it will mark what s likely to be an awkward meeting between Log Cabin Republicans, which declined to endorse the president for reelection, and more conservative lesbian and gay p
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