Documenting the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Each year, December 1st marks World AIDS Day. Established in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first global health day, a day on which people gather – in person or remotely – to fight against HIV, support people living with HIV, and remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. There are other days throughout the year to promote awareness about those living with HIV/AIDS, including:

• February 7: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• March 20: National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• April 10: National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day
• April 18: National Transgender HIV Testing Day
• May 19: National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• June 5: HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day
• September 27: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The History Project has documented the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic from its earliest days in Boston to ensure that the memories of those whose lives were transformed or lost will never be forgotten.

The History Project holds several collections, interviews, and other materials documenting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Some of these collections have been digitized, while others are only available in person. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@historyproject.org.

Above + Beyond (Exhibition) Collection

Above + Beyond is an exhibit that marked the 25th anniversary of the first HIV/AIDS diagnosis and documented the Boston LGBTQ community’s response to the AIDS crisis. There are four boxes containing wide-ranging information, from articles to photographs to videotaped oral histories, and materials from organizations.

ACT UP Collection

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. Founded in New York City in March 1987, the Boston Chapter of ACT UP formed on January 6, 1988. By March of that year, they held their first event, a public “die-in” at Massachusetts General Hospital.

AIDS Ephemera Collection

This two-box grassroots collection contains items ranging from eye-catching advertisements for AIDS awareness events to stickers and buttons.

AIDS Action Committee Collection

The AIDS Action Committee was founded in 1983 to respond to the epidemic. This collection contains newsletters, AIDS Walk Boston information, newspaper articles and pamphlets.

Charles Shively Collection

This substantial collection from Boston gay activist and founder of Fag Rag, includes a box of HIV/AIDS-related materials, mostly newsletters, articles and brochures, from 1983-1997.

David Peterson Collection

There are several folders in this wide-ranging collection from Boston gay activist and Gay Community News co-founder, including one titled HIV/AIDS, 1982-1985, and numerous folders containing materials from the AIDS Action Committee.

Fenway Health Collection

Fenway Community Health Center was founded in 1971 and responded quickly to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This collection includes a variety of articles, documents, pamphlets, and more, in one box.

Boston’s Other Voice Interviews, 1987-1988

Each interview is about a half-hour in length and was aired on Boston's Other Voice, a “radio magazine for the gay community.” All are available online:

• Interview with Alan Kukonis, Boston's Other Voice Person of the Year, about living with AIDS
• Interview with Dennis James, physician assistant at Fenway Community Health and part of the AIDS Action Committee
• Interview with Ken Fish, president of Rhode Island Project AIDS
• Interview with Ken Smith, hotline coordinator for AIDS Action Committee
• Interview with Martin Anderson, director of the "Living With AIDS Theatre Project,"
• Interview with Peter Stickel and Hera Klein about the upcoming Holistic Health Conference in Boston
• Interview with social worker and therapist Ray Dinoi from the New England Hemophilia Center
• Interview with Richard Giglio, the associate coordinator for the "From All Walks Of Life" walk to benefit AIDS services in Boston

All 75 interviews from Boston’s Other Voice can be heard at: https://historyproject.omeka.net/items/browse?collection=8

Robert John Quinn's Memorial Books

This extraordinary work is a collection of over 7,000 obituaries of people who died from 1983-2000. The obituaries are fully digitized and searchable and are arranged in alphabetical order in 26 scrapbooks.

The epidemic is not over. Several organizations in the Boston-area support individuals living with AIDS/HIV:

AIDS Action: https://aac.org/

Boston Living Center/Victory Programs: https://www.vpi.org/boston/

Justice Resource Institute (JRI): https://jri.org

Massachusetts HIV/AIDS Service and Resource Guide: https://www.mass.gov/doc/hivaids-services-and-resource-guide/download

Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers: https://maps-inc.org/

Massachusetts Asian + Pacific Islanders (Map) For Health: https://www.maphealth.org/

Multicultural AIDS Coalition (MAC) https://www.mac-boston.org/

Comments? Questions? Please feel free to contact us at: info@historyproject.org.

Many thanks to Martha Stone for compiling resources for this guide.