Empire State To Go Red For AIDS Walk

Tonight Harvey Fierstein will throw the switch to illuminate the Empire State Building in red as part of the GMHC's "Light Up New York" campaign to mark this weekend's 30th Annual AIDS Walk in Central Park.

Fierstein says: "May these lights, and those burning throughout the city, brighten the night sky with remembrance of the countless precious friends and family we've lost to AIDS. May they carry our pledge to see the end of this disease once and for all."

Numerous other city landmarks are also going red this week. They include One World Trade Center, Bloomingdale's, the Helmsley Building,  the JFK control tower, the Bank Of America tower, the New York Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ billboard in Times Square.

HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer

"Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or ethnic group. Such as gay people. Such as people of color. To date, around the world, an estimated 78 million people have become infected, 39 million of whom have died. When we first became acquainted with HIV there were 41 cases. The main difference between the Larry Kramer who helped to start Gay Men’s Health Crisis in his living room in 1982 and ACT UP in 1987 and the Larry Kramer who stands before you now is that I no longer have any doubt that our government is content, via sins of omission or commission, to allow the extermination of my homosexual population to continue unabated.

"It is talk like this that got the original GMHC board to boot me off and out. It is also talk like this that enabled ACT UP to succeed in getting us our own treatments. These treatments are not good enough but have been good enough to extend our lives. Unfortunately they still come with side effects and they reward their greedy manufacturers with more money than they would make locating the cure that would end this plague." - Larry Kramer, accepting the first-ever Larry Kramer Activism Award from Gay Men's Health Crisis. Hit the link for the full text of the speech.

GLAAD & GMHC Enlist Alan Cumming As Spokesman For FDA "Celibacy Challenge"

From the Celibacy Challenge site:

The FDA recently announced that gay and bisexual men may finally be allowed to donate blood after being banned for life since the ’80s—but only if they remain celibate for one year. So straight guys can have safe sex with woman after woman and still donate blood. But gay and bi men who have had safe sex for an entire year—even with a monogamous partner—would still be banned. Sounds like discrimination to us. Sign this petition to pressure the FDA to screen all prospective blood donors based on risk, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

You'll enjoy the clip.

GMHC To Host PrEP Rally

Gay Men's Health Crisis will host a "PrEP Rally" on February 2nd to discuss the use of Truvada as a daily HIV preventive. From their Facebook event page: "Heard about PrEP & Truvada? Not sure if it's right for you? Not sure how to get it with or without insurance? Let's clear up some rumors and get the facts! Join our panel of experts as we bring you up to speed on the latest information, facts, controversies, and answer your burning questions." 

Among the panelists is a representative from Gilead, the maker of Truvada. To my knowledge, Gilead has not yet countered the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's many anti-Truvada ads with a print campaign of their own, although they do have a "risk evaluation and mitigation strategy" website which stipulates that Truvada "does not replace existing prophylaxis strategies." Truvada's use as an HIV preventive has been endorsed by almost all HIV/AIDS groups and the health departments of several major cities. Last year the CDC issued its own usage guidelines.

At The 24th Annual GMHC Voguing Ball

The 24th Annual GMHC Latex Ball was held last month at Manhattan's Terminal 5. From filmmaker Nicholas Jenkins: "The Latex Ball attracts over 2,000 individuals from the LGBTQ community to dance, vogue, celebrate fashion and art, and compete for prizes and respect. GMHC first launched the Latex Ball in 1989 as an HIV prevention program in response to dire HIV rates in the House & Ball community, a subculture of LGBTQ youth."

MISSOURI: LGBT Groups Stand With Family Of Teen Killed By Cop

A coalition of 17 national LGBT and civil rights groups have issued a joint letter in support of the family of Missouri teenager Michael Brown, whose killing by a police officer has inflamed racial tensions and prompted a national outcry.

Among the groups signing the letter are the ACLU, HRC, GLAD, GLAAD, GMHC, NGLTF, PFLAG, and the Trevor Project.

Larry Kramer's Fight For The Normal Heart

The HBO movie debuts on Sunday at 9PM.

More Trouble For GMHC

Last month the NYC-based Gay Men's Health Crisis was in the news after executive director Marjorie Hill stepped down amid accusations of mismanagement. Today we learn that GMHC is breaking the lease on its fairly new headquarters and is on the hunt for a less expensive location. Matthew Katz reports at DNA Info:

GMHC, which sources said spent millions to move into new offices on West 33rd Street in 2011, has begun to work with Studley, a real estate firm that represents tenants, in the hopes of finding a cheaper space, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. “The board of directors believes that we can find a space that better suits the needs of the ever-progressing GMHC and its client services than where we're currently housed," said board chair Mickey Rolfe in a statement. "We don't have more info to share today.” Insiders said the organization's board is considering a move within the next two years, meaning the agency would break its eight-year lease with Broadway Partners, the owner of the 446 W. 33rd St. building, which is set to end in 2018. "This office was never a good idea," said one GMHC insider who asked to remain anonymous. "We can't provide basic services — we've had to cut services to pay for this thing."

The selection of the sprawling 165,000sf current location was criticized because the lease bars GMHC from providing medical services on the premises, forcing them to also rent a second location several blocks away.  GMHC reported a six-figure loss in 2012, which brought layoffs and furloughs for the remaining staffers.

Turmoil At GMHC

Earlier this week the Gay Men's Health Crisis issued a press release noting that CEO Marjorie Hill was stepping down. The notice didn't seem particularly newsworthy, so I didn't mention it here. However today DNAinfo reports that there may be more to the story than a routine change in leadership.

Sources within the organization said GMHC chairman Mickey Rolfe and the board ousted Hill amid accusations that she had harmed the decades-old organization by costing it millions of dollars in grants, losing dozens of talented staffers through layoffs and using an acidic management style. "We couldn't keep a CEO there who had such a contemptuous relationship to staff and clients," said one insider, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Hill did not respond to requests for comment. The executive's problems at GMHC, which provides health and social services to HIV-positive people and organizes the city's annual AIDS Walk, began to come to a head in July, when staff learned Hill would take a paid three-month sabbatical — just one week after many staffers had their salaries slashed, sources said. Hill, who was paid more than $230,000 in 2012, according to tax documents, departed as staffers were seething about the news their salaries would be cut and their annual health care costs would rise by $1,000, sources said.

A commenter on the above-linked article argues that Hill's salary doesn't seem out of a line for an organization of GMHC's size. Whatever the other issues may have been, I'd agree on that point. ACT UP New York is cheering her departure on their Twitter account.

LGBT Rights Groups Denounce Supreme Court's Ruling On Voting Rights Act

LGBT Rights Coalition

We, America’s leading LGBT advocacy organizations, join civil rights organizations – and indeed, all Americans whom this law has served to protect – in expressing acute dismay at today’s ruling. Not only had Congress repeatedly reaffirmed the need for this bedrock civil rights protection, but authoritative voices from across America had filed amicus briefs urging the court not to undermine the law: the NAACP; the American Bar Association; the Navajo Nation; the states of New York, California, Mississippi and North Carolina; numerous former Justice Department officials charged with protecting voting rights; dozens of U.S. senators and representatives; and many others.

These varied and powerful voices attest to the self-evident reality that racial protections are still needed in voting in this country. As recently as last year’s elections, political partisans resorted to voter suppression laws and tactics aimed at reducing the votes of people of color.  Voting rights protections, which have long served our nation’s commitment to equality and justice, should not be cast aside now. The court has done America a grave disservice, and we will work with our coalition partners to undo the damage inflicted by this retrogressive ruling.

The above was co-signed by Lambda Legal, Freedom To Marry, National Center for Lesbian Rights, HRC, Pride At Work, GMHC, GLAD, National Black Justice Coalition, Family Equality Council, The Task Force, PFLAG, and several others.

AIDS Walk NYC: May 19th

If you're walking this year, feel free to pitch your donation account in the comments.  Visit AIDS Walk New York for information about participating. 

RELATED: Check out my slideshow from AIDS Walk 2012, which featured speeches from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and a galaxy of Broadway, Hollywood and television stars.

Opening Next Week In Manhattan

Embiggen for details.

SLIDESHOW: AIDS Walk New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and a galaxy of Broadway, Hollywood and television stars crowded the main stage in Central Park early this morning to help kick off the GMHC's 27th Annual AIDS Walk New York. Stars on hand included Wendy Williams, Grammy nominee Keri Hilson, NCIS: Los Angeles star Barrett Foa, Tony winner David Hyde Pierce, Glee's Dot Jones, designer Jason Wu, and Ugly Betty's Michael Urie, who played to the squealing fans in the front row by throwing HIS underwear in the face of good sport Nick Jonas.You can find all of that and much more in the slideshow below, plus lots of shots of the more than 45,000 walkers who jammed Central Park from end-to-end today. To date, AIDS Walk New York has raised more than $122 million for programs and services in the tri-state region. My personal thanks to GMHC Communications Director Dirk McCall for looking after me all morning. Full-screen photos are here.

MUSEUM SHOW: 30 Years Of Art & AIDS

Embiggen the above image for details or go here. Via press release:

Starting on November 29, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art will generously donate its gallery, for a third year, to host, "Art & AIDS: 30 Years," an exhibition featuring 50 artists living with HIV/AIDS. Over 150 works of art, utilizing diverse media, will be on display through December 3. The exhibition will mark the 30th year of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by including a memorial wall of artists who have died of AIDS.

The opening reception is this Tuesday, 6pm-8pm.

November 17th: GMHC's Fashion Forward

Information and tickets.

Photo Of The Day

(Via - Truth Wins Out)

Lisa Lampanelli Vs. Westboro

Over the weekend comedian Lisa Lampanelli vowed to donate $1000 to the Gay Men's Health Crisis for every Westboro protester that show up at her Topeka, Kansas show.

GMHC Responds To Ruben Diaz

Majorie Hill, CEO of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, has issued a statement directed at NY state Sen. Ruben Diaz, who has again scheduled a massive anti-gay rally on the same day as the AIDS Walk in Central Park.

Sadly, in the mid-afternoon on the 15th, a march against same-sex marriage will be hosted by state Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. in the Bronx.We are distressed that Senator Diaz would focus his attention on increasing homophobia which is a lethal driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A recent study reported that gay couples who are affirmed in their relationships are less likely to place themselves at risk for HIV. Similar findings by other studies have shown that anti-gay bullying and other forms of homophobia can place lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals at higher risk for HIV.

Research has also shown that same-sex marriage has disproportionately positive effects for gay and lesbian couples of color. From our work each day, we know that homophobia and stigma still affect people living with HIV/AIDS and can create barriers to accessing healthcare and support.GMHC as an organization and AIDS Walk New York as a fundraiser promote social justice, equality and equal access for all. To show support for people affected by HIV/AIDS and solidarity for same-sex couples who will soon have the same human rights as heterosexual couples, New Yorkers are encouraged to join us and walk for AIDS Walk New York."

It sounds a bit like Hill is discouraging counter-protesting at the Diaz event.

(Via - Steven Thrasher @ Village Voice)

Larry Kramer: AIDS Is A Plague That Was And Is Allowed To Happen

As the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the first noted cases of AIDS, famed activist Larry Kramer publishes a typically blistering editorial for CNN International in which he shouts that AIDS is a plague that was allowed to happen. And still is. An excerpt:

Governments and bureaucrats and presidents and politicians and the people who run this world lie to people. They tell us HIV is under control. They tell us case numbers are decreasing. They tell us that all is being done that can be done. They tell us HIV is too complicated to eradicate. They tell us gay people and people of color have made more progress than ever before. These are all lies. [snip]

For some 30-plus years, I have been trying to tell the world where this plague came from and why, and I will continue to do so until I die, too. You see, I simply can't get the memories and the ghosts of just about every friend I had out of my life. And since there is no doubt in my mind that this plague of HIV/AIDS that took them from me was and continues to be allowed to happen, I am duty bound to tell this hideous history as best and as fully as I can. It's the least I can do. That is correct: This plague of HIV/AIDS was intentionally allowed to happen. It still is. Nothing has changed in the intentionality department. Hate has a way of hanging around forever and too often winning out in the end.

Please read Kramer's full piece, especially his "ten realities about AIDS." And read the comments, where AIDS denialists and anti-gay Christians are rushing to attack.

GLAAD & GMHC Call On NYC To Yank Graphic New HIV Prevention Ad

GLAAD and the Gay Men's Health Crisis are calling on New York City to cease airing an HIV prevention ad that the groups says is "sensationalist and stigmatizing."

The PSA, which is intended to encourage condom usage among gay and bisexual men, claims that those with HIV face a higher risk of bone loss, dementia, and anal cancer. While older adults living with HIV may be at greater risk of these conditions, the PSA creates a grim picture of what it is like to live with HIV that could further stigmatize HIV/AIDS, as well as gay and bisexual men. “We know from our longstanding HIV prevention work that portraying gay and bisexual men as dispensing diseases is counterproductive,“ said Marjorie Hill, PhD, GMHC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Studies have shown that using scare tactics is not effective. Including gay men’s input, while recognizing their strength and resiliency, in the creation of HIV prevention education is effective. Gay men are part of the prevention solution, not the problem.” Both GLAAD and GMHC have reached out to the department to demand that the commercial be pulled and to offer assistance with framing the conversation around HIV/AIDS more accurately.

Here's the clip, which does seem over the top. One image in particular may be quite disturbing.