National Minority AIDS Council Building Healthier Communities
Building Leadership in Communities of Color to Address HIV/AIDS
NMAC on the Horizon
1985
Laboratory testing reveals that HTLV-III and LAV are the same.
March 2, 1985
The FDA announces that it has licensed a commercial test for the presence of
HTLV-III/LAV antibodies. Testing on the blood supply begins in the United States and Japan. New guidelines are issued
barring anyone who tests positive for the antibodies from donating blood.
April 1985
The first International AIDS Conference (IAS) is held, in Atlanta, GA. Discussion focuses on the new HTLV-III/LAV test and the increased incidence of AIDS abroad and among heterosexuals.
Ryan White (left), a 13 year old hemophiliac, is
diagnosed with AIDS and barred from school. His story helps communicate to the
American public that AIDS is a disease that could impact anyone and generates
public and Congressional support for increased federal funding for those living
with and affected by AIDS.
September 17, 1985
Ronald Reagan mentions "AIDS" for the first time
in public at a press conference.
October 2, 1985
Rock Hudson (right), the first high
profile American celebrity to publicly admit he has AIDS,
succumbs to the
disease. Controversy surrounds his final television role in which he shared an
on-screen, open-mouth kiss with a female co-star.
At an October meeting held in Bangui,
public health officials, including representatives of the CDC and WHO, define
AIDS in Africa as "prolonged fevers for a
month or more, weight loss of
over 10% and prolonged diarrhea."
Project Inform and the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) are founded.
37% of Gallup
poll respondents say AIDS makes them feel less favorably toward homosexuals.
Saliva is discounted as an AIDS threat.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) establishes the HIV/AIDS Services Demonstration Program, which funds services for PWAs in four urban areas. It later serves as the foundation for Title I of the Ryan White CARE Act.
Larry Kramer, the playwright and co-founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis, brings The Normal Heart, a play about the early days of the AIDS epidemic, to the stage.
Late Fall 1985
Dr. Juan Ramos started convening meetings with minority HIV/AIDS leaders about the impact of HIV in communities of color. Paul Kawata recalls Ramos saying:
'What's happening here? People of color are being disproportionately affected by this epidemic, we have to do something about it.' So we had a series of meetings ... which always culminated in these ugly knock-down fights.