Today is World AIDS Day. AIDS has been around so long that there’s a new wave of plays about the epidemic. This is not nostalgia. There were 1.7 million people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2018 worldwide — some 39,000 in the U.S. alone, according to the Center for Disease Control, which offers a page of alarming statistics
There are alarming articles too: In Addressing HIV, the U.S. Has a Lot to Learn From Namibia
Javier Munoz is not the only HIV-positive theater artist speaking out. Donja R. Love’s play “One in Two,”which opens this month, is inspired by his 10th anniversary of being HIV positive, and offers an unflinching portrait of being Black and queer in 2019.
The title is an allusion to another statistic:
is there a Black queer hiv-positive person who wants to be my guest to see my play, #oneintwo, at the @TheNewGroupNYC in nyc tonight (12/1, #WorldAIDSDay) at 7:30pm?
i have a free ticket for you. 💜 dm me.
— Donja R. Love (@donjarlove) December 1, 2019
here’s the thing. world aids days is everyday for me.
12/1 so many people come out the woodworks to work towards ending stigma. then on 12/2… crickets. while i’m still in my Black, queer hiv+ body struggling to take my meds.
hopefully 12/2 y’all will still be this fired up.
— Donja R. Love (@donjarlove) December 1, 2019
The theme of this year’s #WorldAIDSDay is “Communities make the difference”. Sending gratitude to (RED) & the entire theatre community for standing in solidarity, compassion, love, & always in support of the medical facts & progress.#UequalsU @RED @BCEFA @TheActorsFund pic.twitter.com/nLfPjX0FL7
— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) December 1, 2019
As we enter our fourth decade of AIDS activism, we’re letting you know that the work to end HIV is far from over. Check out our 20/20 vision playbook for ending the epidemic. #WorldAIDSDay https://t.co/cberBidNhP
— ACT UP NY (@actupny) December 1, 2019
Living in NYC, I still have a geography of all the buildings where people I knew who died of AIDS once lived. The city is their memorial.#WorldAIDSDay
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) December 1, 2019
Nearly 40 million are living with HIV around the world with nearly 2 million more diagnosed every year. On #WorldAIDSDay we remember those we’ve lost to this disease, recommit to ending the HIV epidemic, & continue to work together toward a future without stigma & discrimination.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) December 1, 2019
