
Treatment GuideJust DiagnosedSex & DatingAfrican AmericanStigmaAsk the HIV DocPrEP En EspañolNewsVoicesPrint IssueVideoOut 100
CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
As our nation's political climate continues to cast clouds over many of the gains that vociferous activists fought for in the 1980s and '90s, the greatly reduced 'in-your-face' activist presence is almost as loud as the silence. In frustration, a coalition of AIDS groups and grassroots activists came together in the spring to form the Campaign to End AIDS. 'AIDS activism is not only dormant'we're largely fragmented,' says C2EA cochairman Charles King, who is also the executive director of New York City's Housing Works. The organization hopes to create a nationally unified voice to lead the next stage of the AIDS fight. It is built around the concept that the United States has the tools to end AIDS yet lacks the political will to use them'which is 'a very moving message that's both honest and inspiring,' says campaign cochairwoman Julie Davids, executive director of the national Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project in New York. C2EA's first major push for recognition will try to emulate the Poor People's Campaign of 1968, which was a project of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The organizers are hoping for thousands of Americans to travel in 10 'caravans' across the country, all headed for a pivotal weekend in Washington, D.C., October 8'12. Along each of the 10 routes, which together will snake through all of the 48 contiguous states, there will be events and protests to draw attention to the campaign. The New York City caravan will travel almost entirely on foot. Washington activities will include a breakfast in the church where Frederick Douglass's funeral was held, a day in which participants will attempt to visit every national lawmaker with their concerns, and a march on October 12 beginning at the National Mall and culminating with a rally in the Anacostia neighborhood, which is particularly hard-hit by HIV. C2EA evolved partly from AIDSVote.org, a group that set HIV platforms for the 2004 presidential election. It is spearheaded largely by Housing Works and Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization as well as the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the National Association of People With AIDS. King says the campaign's main strength is in its grass roots and its diversity. Smaller local groups such as the Wyoming AIDS Project are also heading up the effort. 'The only way that we're going to get people's attention,' King says, 'is to build a broad-based national movement that elected officials feel they have to respond to.' Thus the campaign is focusing on elevating the voices of rural HIVers'those living in the 'red states' where political power has shifted in recent years. Further, C2EA is bringing together disparate groups'former ACT UPers, who are primarily secular, older white gay males, and devoutly religious young African-American women, for example'in hopes of presenting a more unified voice. To get involved with C2EA and to see if the caravans will travel near you, visit www.endAIDSnow.org or call (877) 363-2437.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Lexi Love comes out as HIV+ after Trump deletes federal resources
January 23 2025 11:23 AM
Grindr is reminding us why jockstraps are so sexy and iconic
May 02 2025 5:36 PM
BREAKING NEWS: Trump admin moves to end federal HIV prevention programs
March 18 2025 6:10 PM
Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources
January 31 2025 5:29 PM
Celebrating Black History Month with our annual African American issue
February 01 2025 3:28 PM
Tyler TerMeer vows to continue to fight for health care for all
January 28 2025 3:00 PM
Discover the power of Wellness in your life
March 26 2025 12:41 PM
Plus: Featured Video
Latest Stories
Dancer. Healer. Survivor. DéShaun Armbrister is all of the above
July 02 2025 8:23 PM
BREAKING: Supreme Court rules to save free access to preventive care, including PrEP
June 27 2025 10:32 AM
1985: the year the AIDS crisis finally broke through the silence
June 26 2025 11:24 AM
VIDEO: A man living with HIV discusses his journey to fatherhood
June 10 2025 4:58 PM
Trump admin guts $258 million in funding for HIV vaccine research
June 03 2025 3:47 PM
HRC holds 'die-in' to protest Trump health care cuts
April 28 2025 2:11 PM
Two right-wing Supreme Court justices signal they may uphold access to PrEP and more
April 21 2025 4:10 PM
500,000 Children at Risk: PEPFAR Funding Crisis
April 08 2025 3:51 PM
Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes
April 03 2025 7:15 PM
The Talk Season 5 premieres this spring with HIV guidance for the newly diagnosed
March 26 2025 1:00 PM
Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring
March 26 2025 12:20 PM
Jess King is here to help you live your happiest, healthiest life yet
March 24 2025 4:35 PM
Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times
March 11 2025 3:38 PM
Plus nominated for 2025 GLAAD Media Award
January 22 2025 12:42 PM
A camp for HIV-positive kids is for sale. Here's why its founder is celebrating
January 02 2025 12:21 PM
This long-term HIV survivor says testosterone therapy helped save his life.
December 16 2024 8:00 PM
'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Trinity K Bonet quietly comes out trans
December 15 2024 6:27 PM
Ricky Martin delivers showstopping performance for 2024 World AIDS Day
December 05 2024 12:08 PM
AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed at White House for the first time
December 02 2024 1:21 PM