It’s Mourning in America: The California Gay Community’s Response in the Face of an Administration’s Neglect

Conedera, Carolyn

It’s Mourning in America: The California Gay Community’s Response in the Face of an Administration’s Neglect

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/48611

Author(s)

Conedera, Carolyn

Date Issued

April 3, 2019

Abstract

When gay American men began falling ill at an alarming rate during the early 1980s, it became apparent that there was a terrifying new threat to public health in the United States. Although it would later become apparent that HIV/AIDS affected more than just the LGBTQ community, it would take years before it was taken seriously. California was an area that was especially affected by this epidemic. There was a distinct lack of response from President Ronald Reagan and other government officials, such as California Governor George Deukmejian. There was a rallying response from the local LGBTQ community that resulted in political activism and the formation of multiple organizations. My thesis is that the California gay community’s multifaceted responses to the increasingly deadly AIDS epidemic of the 1980s were a result of the response, or lack thereof, from the President of the United States and his administration and other government officials. By the end of this project, I will demonstrate why the California gay community reacted the way that they did in the absence of governmental leadership from the executive branch. In a time where the President refused to address the epidemic, the California gay community took education, research, and medical care for AIDS patients into their own hands, knowing that without these measures, they, their friends, and loved ones, could likely be the next victims of the overwhelming and terrifying AIDS epidemic.

Major

Global Health Studies

History

First Reader(s)

Pinnow, Kenneth M.