Arthur Ashe
There has been an article previously that documented a few of the public figures who have changed the course of HIV and AIDS by bringing their diseases into the spotlight. It is very important that we make it well known that people we see on television or in movies are being affected by HIV and AIDS. This way it becomes more real for people that are uneducated about the subject. If there is somebody that has no clue about HIV and AIDS, but then their favorite basketball star is infected, this will increase people’s awareness when it is talked about on the news or in a television special. Here are some more of the famous figures that have made a difference in our society by making it known that they have been infected HIV or AIDS, either by announcing it to the public, or by their deaths due to the viruses.
1. Robert Reed – He played Mike Brady while on the television The Brady Bunch and was a wholesome father figure that the entire country looked up to. What the public did not see though, was that Reed was angry and ashamed of his homosexuality. He often threatened his male partners after intercourse because he did not believe that he had the option of coming out to the public. He was living with HIV and AIDS for some time before dying in 1992. Reed is an example of somebody that brought HIV and AIDS out into the public because of his death. He tried to keep his personal life to himself for the most part.
2. Arthur Ashe – The first African-American to ever win a Grand Slam contest in the sport of tennis. He found that he had contracted HIV during one of his blood transfusions, which effectively ended his tennis career. Ashe and his family tried to keep his infection a secret at first, but then made it public after there were reports that a newspaper was going to run a story about his disease. While he had the chance, Arther Ashe did whatever he could to increase AIDS awareness. He died in February of 1993.
3. Ryan White – He was not a famous actor or athlete, but he did gain popularity after being expelled from his school for being infected with HIV. This put White and AIDS awareness into the forefront. Before Ryan White, these viruses were thought to only affect the homosexual community, but he really showed that it could infect anybody, even your neighbor or your child. White was a hemophiliac that became infected after coming into contact with contaminated blood during a blood transfusion.
Thankfully there are people that put themselves into the spotlight for the benefit of everybody in their position without a voice. HIV and AIDS can affect anybody, and these people showed that. Hopefully, as long as there is a subject that needs to be brought to our attention, there will be somebody with the courage to talk about it.
