1980-1989 - 1980-1989

1980: Democrats are the first political party to add “gay rights” to their platform during the DNC

Human Rights Campaign is founded

1981: NY Times publishes story on “rare and fatal cancer” in gay men in NY and CA

First cases of pneumocystis carinii and KS are reported in NY and CA

1981: First weekly support group for people with KS begins at SFbased, Shanti

1982: After being called GRID, the disease is renamed, AIDS

National Association of People with AIDS is formed

1983: Discovery of the virus that causes AIDS

CDC begins tracking AIDS infections by race

First AIDS case is reported in Africa

First woman in the world is diagnosed with AIDS in SF

1984: FDA approves first HIV anti-body test

First panel of HIV/ AIDS Memorial quilt created

1985: First Black AIDS organizations founded: Bebashi in Philadelphia; Black and White Men Together in SF; MAP in LA.

President Reagan mentions AIDS for the first time

Ryan White, an Indiana teenager with AIDS, is barred from school

1st International AIDS Conference held in Atlanta

1st first HIV antibody test developed

The first memorial to the Nazi’s gay victims is unveiled at the Neuengamme concentration camp

1986: AZT becomes first antiHIV drug approved by FDA

First Black AIDS Conference

Outreach, Inc. in Atlanta to outreach in black neighborhoods. It’s the oldest HIV/AIDS CBO in the south, and focusing on IDUs.

Immigration Reform and Control Act imposes penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented people

1987: The AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) Program is established. Watch this video to learn more about the AETC network’s 35 years of supporting the HIV care community.

ACT UP is founded in NYC

AIDS Quilt displayed for the 1st time

US shuts its doors to HIV -infected immigrants and travelers

National Minority AIDS Council is formed

Asian Pacific American Heritage Week is established

1988: First CDC Grant for HIV Prevention for Black Men

AIDS rate skyrockets in Black Women

WHO declares December 1st as the first World AIDS Day

Hispanic Heritage Week becomes Hispanic Heritage Month

1989: Sisterlove, Inc. is founded in Georgia, focusing on women