VH1 AIDS: A Pop Culture History VH1 Music Studio Cable in the Classroom SYMBOLS & PEOPLE

Note to Teachers: The programs viewed in conjunction with these educational materials may include references, consistent with the eras portrayed, to substance abuse, violent acts, and topics of a sexual and/or political nature. Because this may be considered inappropriate for classroom use in some communities, you are encouraged to review the programs before presenting them to your students, and if necessary, choose those sections that enhance your lesson and are acceptable for use in your classroom.

Symbols & People

The history of HIV/AIDS includes organizations, people, and yes, symbols that have been instrumental in drawing attention to the disease and to those who have been affected by the disease. People and organizations can energize others to action, or at least open their eyes to reality. Symbols can create a visual bond among people, while also opening eyes and motivating action.

Below, you can learn about some of the more prominent symbols and people in the 20-year history of HIV/AIDS. Among them are the red ribbon, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, ACT UP, Elizabeth Taylor, and Magic Johnson. For each, you can find out about their history and their impact.

Red Ribbon
There was a time where it seemed like every celebrity at an awards show wore a small red ribbon. Whether on an actor, musician, or another kind of artist, a red ribbon showed a desire to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, to find a cure for AIDS, and to display a solidarity with those touched directly by the disease. How did the HIV/AIDS ribbon come about? How did its use spread throughout the pop culture community?

When painter Frank C. Moore II created the red ribbon symbol in 1991, the idea of a symbolic ribbon was not new. In 1979, Iranians took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and took Americans hostage, creating a national and international crisis. The yellow ribbon became a national symbol of solidarity for the hostages. With AIDS at a crisis level, artist Frank C. Moore II conceived of a simple design of an overlapping red ribbon to draw attention to HIV/AIDS. Red can simultaneously represent the heart and blood: love and pain. Members of the arts community led the way in wearing the ribbon, particularly when they were being watched by the public.

When Frank C. Moore died of AIDS complications in 2002, however, the AIDS ribbon was much less prominent than it was in the early and mid 1990s. And today, the cause for HIV/AIDS awareness and research has taken a bit of a backseat among celebrities. Unfortunately, their attitude seems to mirror the attitude of the general public.

• Do you think that the red ribbon is an effective symbol for HIV/AIDS awareness? Why or why not?


• Do you think that the red ribbon is a well-known symbol? Do you think that more people recognized it 10 years ago? Why or why not?
• Have you ever worn a symbol? What prompted you to wear it?

Sources:
OBITUARIES / Frank Moore II, Painter; Started AIDS Ribbon:[ALL EDITIONS]
Why do we put up yellow ribbons during wars, hostage crises, etc.?

ACT UP
In March 1987, few politicians were actively working to end the AIDS crisis. Instead, many politicians seemed to be ignoring AIDS and hoping that it would just go away. Under these conditions, ACT UP formed in New York City and immediately raised a collective voice to draw attention to a disease that was killing more and more people ever day. ACT UP organized rallies and protests, including massive acts of civil disobedience, and it popularized the slogan SILENCE = DEATH.

ACT UP’s actions may have rubbed people the wrong way (as though they were kids “acting up”), but those in ACT UP had grown restless about the lack of official attention devoted to AIDS. In fact, still to this day, they say that they are “united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis.” As an organization, ACT UP is a symbol of activism: a group of committed people who do what it takes to make a difference.

The all-volunteer organization now has chapters all around the world and continues to engage in direct action to end the AIDS crisis. How do they do that today? “We meet with government and health officials; we research and distribute the latest medical information. We protest and demonstrate; we are not silent. We challenge anyone who, by their actions or inaction, hinders the fight against AIDS.” They really do Act Up.

• Have you ever been so frustrated that you felt as though you needed to “act up” in order to draw attention to your frustrations?
• Some would describe ACT UP’s tactics as “in-your-face” methods. Whether or not you agree with that view of ACT UP, do you feel that “in-your-face” methods tend to draw attention to an issue, or do they tend to turn people off so much that the tactics end up doing more harm than good?
• ACT UP has only unpaid volunteers who work for it. Do you think having people who work for free demonstrates a higher level of commitment?

Source:
http://www.actupny.org/

AIDS Memorial Quilt
Currently made up of more than 44,000 panels, each one honoring someone who has died of AIDS, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is a powerful (and huge!) HIV/AIDS symbol. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. For over fifteen years, loved ones have sewn images and words into 3’ x 6’ panels as personal tributes to those the panels commemorate. But why a quilt?

At a 1985 candlelight vigil in San Francisco (commemorating the lives of two of the city’s leaders who had been assassinated in 1978), one of the vigil’s organizers (gay-rights activist Cleve Jones) had an idea for also commemorating the more-than 1,000 San Franciscans who had died of AIDS. He asked vigil participants who knew an AIDS victim to create and carry a small sign honoring the person. At the end of the vigil, people placed all of their signs on a downtown building’s wall, and together, the signs resembled a giant quilt. The idea for a memorial quilt took root.

In June of 1987, Cleve Jones created what would be the first panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to honor a friend. Along with Mike Smith, Jones and others began the NAMES Project, starting small with a handful of panels for the quilt. Word spread quickly, and by October of 1987, there were nearly 2,000 panels to the quilt on display in Washington, DC. The AIDS Memorial Quilt continues to travel around the world, deeply moving those who experience it.

• Had you heard of the quilt before seeing this website (or seeing the documentary)? What was your impression of it then? What is your impression of it now?
• The quilt has individual panels and each commemorates someone; together, the panels make a powerful visual statement about HIV/AIDS. Do you think it is important that the quilt has personalized panels while also giving a sense of the number of people who have died of AIDS?
• If there is someone you were close to who has died (not necessarily of AIDS), how might you pay tribute to him/her on a quilt? What images and words would you use?

Elizabeth Taylor
Winner of multiple Oscars … Wife of multiple husbands ... For many years, Elizabeth Taylor was known for moving performances and for moving from one spouse to another. Starting in 1985, though, Elizabeth Taylor added AIDS crusader to the list by energizing Hollywood to take up the AIDS cause. Since then, she has continued on her crusade.

In 1985, Elizabeth Taylor’s good friend and fellow actor, Rock Hudson, died of AIDS. It was early in the history of the disease, and few people outside of the gay community paid close attention to it. Elizabeth Taylor paid attention, and she demanded that others also pay attention. That year, she organized a huge fundraiser for AIDS research. The fundraiser provided a dynamic beginning for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), which she co-founded with Dr. Mathilde Krim.

Since then, she has testified to Congress; she has continued to rally the Hollywood community to take a lead in promoting AIDS awareness; and she has started another AIDS foundation: The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Since its beginning in 1991, her foundation has provided more than $8 million for AIDS organizations all around the world. Her celebrity has helped her spread her passion and her devotion throughout the country for finding a cure and for treating AIDS victims with passion and understanding.

• Why do you think the Hollywood community embraced the cause of HIV/AIDS?


• Why do you think the Hollywood community was effective in convincing people around the country to pay attention to the AIDS crisis?
• Rock Hudson’s death was the final push for Elizabeth Taylor to raise awareness of AIDS and to change attitudes toward the disease. Has there ever been a time in which one event (not necessarily a death) motivated you to take action?

Earvin “Magic” Johnson
In basketball, a “triple-double” refers to reaching double digits (10 or more) in three categories, usually points, rebounds, and assists. It is a rare feat. In the NBA, Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a triple-double threat every time he stepped on the court during his 13-year career. As point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic achieved a triple-double more often than anyone else. More importantly, he led his team to nine NBA Championship series, and the team won five of them. And when he and Larry Bird entered the NBA in the same year, many people believe that they brought new life to the league. Magic’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics created a dynamic rivalry.

In 1991, the threat associated with Magic Johnson changed from triple-double to HIV. Magic stunned the world when he announced that he was HIV positive and that he was retiring from basketball. Many people wondered how such a healthy-looking heterosexual man could be HIV positive. His announcement shook up the notion that AIDS was a “gay” disease. Similar to the way he brought new life to the NBA, Magic brought a new energy to the HIV/AIDS cause. Immediately after the public learned of Magic’s HIV status, the number of people getting themselves tested for the virus skyrocketed to an all-time high.

Magic further redefined what it meant to be HIV positive when he returned to the basketball court, including as a member of the first Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics. He also began the Magic Johnson Foundation to address the educational, health, and social needs of inner-city youth, in particular. HIV/AIDS is at the forefront of the foundation’s mission, and sadly, HIV/AIDS is at its highest level in the U.S. among underserved minority communities in the inner-city. Earvin Johnson, however, is doing what he can to work his magic and make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

• Because Magic still looks healthy more than 10 years after he announced that he was HIV positive, many people mistakenly think that Magic no longer has the virus. Why might it be harmful if people think that Magic is “cured”?


• Magic helped change the notion that AIDS is a “gay” disease. Do you think that many people still wrongly consider it to be a “gay” disease?


• Why do you think that testing for HIV skyrocketed after Magic announced that he was HIV positive?

These materials are provided through a partnership with Cable Positive. This curriculum was created in collaboration with Cable Positive, Cable in the Classroom and Topics Education.