by Paul Kawata – Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council

The fight against HIV/AIDS has always been about more than the search for medicine or a cure. It has been a battle for human dignity, to demonstrate that each life, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, or religion, has inherent value. From the beginning, this epidemic has taken the largest toll on our most marginalized communities. From gay men and transgender women to injection-drug users and people of color, those who are most often shut out of our nation’s halls of affluence and power are also the most vulnerable to a whole host of health challenges, including HIV.

A few days ago I had the honor of participating in a panel on HIV sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Caucus. During the event the always-inspiring Douglas Brooks, who is the first black gay man living with HIV to head the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, gave brief opening remarks in which he quoted the Bible, saying, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). As we once again marked National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (Sept. 27), this simple verse resonated with me in a powerful way and seemed to reflect the position that so many gay men, especially gay men living with HIV, find themselves in.

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