Critics say President Bush has made a big show of PEPFAR, while neglecting the rise in HIV infections in communities of color at home. (Photo by Susan Walsh/AP
The arrogance of white gays
Gay voters should blame themselves for Prop 8, not black Californians.
Promise of a new day
We won, we celebrated and now it’s time to get back to work.
Obama’s unfinished civil rights tasks
If Americans want real change, we should grant gays full equality under the law.
|
JAIME GRANT, Ph.D.
Friday, August 15, 2008
TWO
WEEKS
AGO,
through
the
twists
and
turns
of
the
legislative
process,
President
Bush
signed
a
five-year
authorization
on
one
of
his
landmark
overseas
programs,
the
President’s
Emergency
Plan
for
AIDS
Relief
(PEPFAR),
and
with
a
stroke
of
his
routinely
anti-LGBT
pen,
lifted
the
15-year-old
U.S.
HIV
travel
ban.
That
this
is
an
overdue
victory
is
an
understatement,
but
the
true
statement
here
is
that
we
never
should
have
had
such
a
discriminatory
law
to
fight
against
in
the
first
place.
This
ban,
initiated
by
the
late
and
infamously
anti-gay
Sen.
Jesse
Helms
(R-N.C.),
was
a
relic
of
the
ferocious
anti-gay
stigma
associated
with
HIV
at
the
onset
of
the
epidemic.
Draconian
policies
sprung
up
from
every
corner,
and
Helms’
travel
ban
did
damage
to
HIV-positive
businessmen
and
women,
vacationers
and
families
for
more
than
a
decade.
While
people’s
memory
of
the
ban,
along
with
our
relative
outrage,
faded
over
the
years,
the
terrible
effects
of
the
law
pressed
on.
URVASHI
VAID,
WHO
served
as
the
Task
Force’s
director
at
the
height
of
Helms’
anti-HIV
crusade
noted
in
an
e-mail
to
me
the
day
the
ban
was
lifted:
“The
policy
hurt
so
many
people.
I
spent
time
just
last
year
trying
to
help
a
friend’s
gay
brother
whose
partner
of
more
than
25
years
was
suddenly
stopped
and
prevented
from
entering
the
U.S.
at
the
Canadian
border
during
a
routine
crossing.
This
was
a
guy
here
legally,
had
a
life
and
was
suddenly
turned
away
at
the
border
because
of
his
HIV
status.
His
partner
wrote
to
every
member
of
Congress,
met
with
all
the
people
I
directed
him
to,
fought
back
with
lawyers
and
incurred
so
much
pain
and
hardship
and
yet
was
not
able
to
get
his
partner
into
the
country.
That
is
what
this
entire
ban
accomplished
—
it
hurt
really
good
people
so
some
ideological
point
could
be
scored.”
REA
CAREY,
THE
Task
Force’s
executive
director,
who
worked
in
LGBT
youth
leadership
development
at
the
onset
of
the
travel
ban
had
this
to
say:
“Today,
we
can
all
be
proud
of
never
letting
up,
never
acquiescing
to
the
government’s
neglect
and
abuse
of
people
with
HIV.
Regardless,
all
of
us
are
looking
forward
to
a
new
era
and
a
new
administration,
one
in
which
the
possibility
of
addressing
the
resurgence
of
HIV
infection
rates,
especially
among
black
and
Latino
men
who
have
sex
with
men,
might
finally
be
appropriately
addressed.”
The
president
has
made
a
big
show
of
PEPFAR
while
neglecting
the
terrible
rise
in
infections
in
communities
of
color
at
home.
Further,
he
continues
to
tie
PEPFAR
funding
to
abstinence-only
educational
programs,
favoring
right-wing
social
agendas
over
science.
Gay
Men’s
Health
Crisis
Executive
Director
Marjorie
Hill
notes:
“Abstinence-only-until-marriage
has
been
an
abject
failure
in
the
U.S.
and
it
is
undercutting
the
local,
effective
prevention
efforts
in
Africa
and
elsewhere.”
Today,
we
are
all
breathing
a
sigh
of
relief
that
our
friends
and
loved
ones
with
HIV
can
finally
be
treated
with
the
dignity
and
respect
they
deserve
as
they
exit
and
enter
this
country.
Once
here,
our
work
begins.
Again.
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