WORLD AIDS DAY
Nat’l AIDS Memorial Plans
Virtual World AIDS Day
Dr. Anthony Fauci will be participating in the National AIDS Memorial’s virtual event on December 1
BY MATT TRACY
The National AIDS Memorial
will mark World
AIDS Day with a full
slate of virtual programming
on December 1, including
panel discussions and a light show
at the National AIDS Memorial
Grove in San Francisco.
The virtual program will kick
off with a forum at 11:30 a.m.
EST with opening remarks, a
traditional prayer, and a performance
by the San Francisco
Gay Men’s Chorus. Senator Raphael
Warnock of Georgia and
Congressmember Barbara Lee
of California will be on hand for
the opening event, along with National
AIDS Memorial CEO John
Cunningham and Gilead chair
and CEO Dan O’Day.
At 12:15 p.m. EST, White House
AIDS Policy Director Harold Phillips
will participate in a separate
discussion about the state of HIV/
AIDS today. The focus of that conversation
will be placed on the disproportionate
impact the epidemic
has had on racial minorities and
LGBTQ individuals. Phillips will be
joined by Paul Kawata, the executive
director of the National Minority
AIDS Council; Dr. Monica Gandhi,
professor of medicine and associate
division chief of the Division of HIV,
Infectious Diseases, and Global
Medicine at the University of California,
San Francisco; and Dr. Robert
Wachter, chair of the Department
of Medicine at the University
of California, San Francisco.
The third event of the program,
TOM BRENNER
on tap for 1 p.m. EST, will feature
a message from Dr. Anthony Fauci,
who spent decades as a leader
in the fi ght against HIV/AIDS before
rising to become a household
name for his work during the coronavirus
pandemic.
Following Dr. Fauci’s discussion,
there will be a gathering of Black
community and faith leaders for
a 1:45 p.m. EST panel about the
work to eradicate racial disparities
in HIV/AIDS. Panelists include
Toni Newman, the interim CEO
of the Black AIDS Institute, and
Bishop OC Allen, the executive
director of the Vision Community
Foundation.
At 2:30 p.m. EST, “Pose” co-creator
Steven Canals will spearhead a
chat about how television shows can
bring visibility to the challenges facing
marginalized LGBTQ communities
in the fi ght against HIV/AIDS.
Shortly after that, a 3:15 p.m.
EST roundtable will highlight the
aging population of people living
with HIV/AIDS and examine a recent
study about people 50 years
and older who are aging with hemophilia
and are often HIV-positive.
The day of events will conclude
with a 7:30 p.m. EST light display
at the Memorial Grove and
an 8 p.m. EST ceremonial reading
of names that have recently been
added to the Memorial Grove and
the AIDS Memorial quilt. There
will also be a candlelight vigil
and artistic performances to commemorate
three decades since the
Grove was established.
For more information visit aidsmemorial.
org/wad2021.
GayCityNews.com | NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1, 2021 11
/GayCityNews.com
