Georgia Equality, 
in partnership with The Tubman Museum, will commemorate the 40th anniversary of AIDS with the installation of African Americans Responding to AIDS: 1981-1991, an exhibit of photographs opening June 5th, 2021, honoring historical African American heroes and their responses to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s in Atlanta, GA.
African Americans Responding to AIDS: 1981-1991 captures the personal stories of activists, caregivers, health professionals, community leaders, and people living with HIV through the first years of the epidemic. The goal is to preserve the memories and the work of those who were often directly affected by AIDS. This history may help challenge ongoing thought on the past and current state of HIV/AIDS, its treatment and prevention. Each photograph is coupled with an audio recording, the personal stories being told directly by the individuals
The exhibit, originally sponsored by The Center for AIDS and Humanity, as a collaborative project of AIDS Survival Project, AIDS Treatment Initiatives and Positive Impact, works to give voice to the individuals and groups who contributed to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS among African Americans and the general population. There is a mis-characterization that African American communities were missing from the early years of the epidemic. This exhibit illustrates how African Americans in Atlanta (and beyond) were on the front line, working in the face of this overwhelming tragedy.
This self-guided installation will be on display in The Tubman Museum from June 5, 2021 – June 27th, 2021.