1984. Ryan White
On 17th December 1984, 13-year old Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS. A haemophiliac, he had contracted the virus from a blood transfusion he had received when he was only six days old.
In the parlance of the ignorant and bigoted he was an ‘innocent’ victim – yet this did not stop the most appalling display of hostility towards him and his family.
Following the illness that had led to his AIDS diagnosis, Ryan prepared to return to school, Western Middle School in Russiaville, Indiana. This was blocked by the School Corporation superintendent James O. Smith.
The reason given to his parents was that the school had a responsibility to ‘protect’ the other staff and students from the disease. In fact the school were simply pandering to the ignorance of 117 parents and 50 teachers who had signed a petition calling for Ryan to be banned.
Despite receiving very clear statements from both the Indiana State Health Commissioner and the Centers for Disease Control that Ryan presented no risk to others, the school maintained its position.
When it became obvious that the school board and principal weren’t going to do anything constructive Ryan’s parents filed a lawsuit to overturn the ban. However, the court declined to hear the case until all administrative channels had been explored first.
So nearly a year later, in November 1985, the Indiana Department of Education ruled that the school must allow Ryan to return. But even then the school continued to pander to, rather than challenge, the local hysteria. Ryan wasn’t allowed to attend gym class, was required to use disposable crockery and cutlery at meal times and had to use a separate bathroom to the other students.
Outside of school the situation was no better. Ryan and his family were subject to repeated threats in their home town of Kokomo. On the street Ryan was verbally abused, including ridiculous comments such as, “we know you’re queer”. When he tried to maintain his job as a paperboy, many of the people on his route cancelled their newspaper subscriptions. Even the staff of the local newspaper received death threats because they publicly supported Ryan and his family.
“Why are they so scared? Maybe it was because I wasn’t that different from everyone else. I wasn’t gay; I wasn’t into drugs. I was just another kid, from Kokomo…maybe that made me even more of a goblin.”
The family finally reached breaking point when a bullet was fired through their living room window. They moved to the town of Cicero. It was still in the state of Indiana but they received a completely different reception there.
On his first day at his new school Ryan was met by the School Principal, the School System Superintendent and a group of students who made a point of shaking his hand. This marked a major turnaround in his experiences.
He was befriended by a range of celebrities including Elton John, John Cougar Mellenkamp, Greg Louganis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – and even Ronald and Nancy Reagan (who had been less forthcoming with their old friend Rock Hudson).
His increased profile also triggered a range of HIV/AIDS initiatives in his name. His mother set up the Ryan White Fund, which aimed to increase awareness around HIV/AIDS. Then in 1990 passage of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, which provides cover as a last resort for people who have no other way of paying for their treatment.
Following his death in April 1990, 1500 people attended his funeral, including Elton John, Barbara Bush, Phil Donahue and Michael Jackson. Ronald Reagan wrote a tribute to Ryan that was published in the Washington Post on the same day.
It seemed that Ryan’s experiences had finally got the message across.
Of course, there are always those who do not want to learn: in the year following his death his grave was vandalised four times.
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