From a candlelight vigil in San Jose to a lakefront celebration in Oakland, World AIDS Day sees Bay Area communities come together to honor those that have lost their lives to AIDS and those that proceed to die to acknowledge progress in overcoming the disease.
Starting Sunday, December 1, official World AIDS Day, celebrations will happen as a part of a worldwide movement to honor the greater than 35 million individuals who have died from AIDS-related illnesses over the past 40 years to indicate support for World AIDS Day According to the National AIDS Trust, an estimated 38 million persons are currently living with AIDS.
A quilt exhibition commemorating AIDS can be on display on the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda in San Jose on Sunday, December 1st from noon to 7:00 p.m., with a candlelight vigil going down the identical day at 5:30 p.m Room begins.
For San Jose City Councilmember Pam Foley, the annual commemoration is personal.
“28 years ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter Katelin, my brother Tim died of AIDS-related complications,” Foley wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Before he died, I wrote him a letter trying to give him the strength to live long enough to meet his niece. Unfortunately I was never able to send the letter as he was sicker than I knew and died a day later.”
Foley, who co-hosts a series of events with the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center and Silicon Valley Pride, invited the community to participate locally event series. In addition to Sunday's activities, a flag raising ceremony can be held on Tuesday, December 3 at 12 p.m.
In Oakland, performances, awards, food and other activities can be held on the Lake Merritt Sail Boat House on Thursday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event, themed “People First: East Bay Communities on the Rise,” is co-hosted by the Oakland LGBTQ Center and East Bay Getting to Zero.
“Our goal is to highlight, in addition to those who may be new to the work here in the East Bay around HIV prevention and HIV stigma, the legacy work that continues to move us forward toward ending the HIV epidemic “wrote the co-hosts in the event announcement.
Sunday services at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco included a recognition of the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the GLBT Historical Society presented a new photography exhibit titled “Focus on Living: Portraits of Americans Living with HIV and AIDS,” and the California Senator Scott Wiener and President Joe Biden released statements.
“Today is World AIDS Day, when we remember those we have lost, redouble our support for those living with or at risk of the virus, and reaffirm our determination to stop new HIV infections here and abroad “To put an end to the world once and for all,” said Wiener.
Widespread access to HIV testing and treatment, in addition to PrEP, could mean “the end of HIV infections,” the senator said.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a drugs that folks prone to HIV take to stop them from contracting HIV through sex or injection drug use. PrEP can prevent HIV from settling within the body and spreading. According to the HIV.gov website, it reduces the chance of contracting HIV through sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed.
“If people know they have HIV and take the effective medications that are available, they can lead healthy lives and are virtually non-infectious. If people like me take PrEP every day, their risk of contracting HIV is virtually nil. These strategies together, if implemented comprehensively, will mean the end of HIV infections,” said Wiener.
President Joe Biden also marked the occasion by issuing a proper proclamation and posting an announcement on social media.
“On World AIDS Day, we raise a red ribbon to remember how far we have come, the work that remains and those who have been devastated by this disease, especially the “LGBTQI+ people and people of color who have borne the brunt of this epidemic rather than being seen,” the president said. “Let’s end this fight.”
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