I can!

How does an activist make a difference in this world a quarter century after HIV was discovered? With passion--and without apology for a thriving existence, of course. Whether they're running their own organizations, crisscrossing the nation on speaking tours, or displaying their motivation in other ways, these young leaders are showing that they can and will create the change that makes the lives of HIVers better and respected.

Jonathan Perry 29 years old, Atlanta Diagnosed in 2001

I believe current anti-HIV messages are ineffectual for my community because they lack two key elements that motivate us: hope and inspiration. Why move forward with no hope of a destination? We need to remove the doom from an HIV diagnosis and give people a reason to live, Right now a lot of us living with HIV don't have one. When I was at Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina there was a rumor going around that I was dying. There is nothing you can tell about me that I will not tell you first. I could have said nothing and let these people continue to believe I was dying, or I could reclaim my power and walk firmly and unapologetically. When I am public about my HIV, this is my destiny of choice, not because I chose to get Infected but because I made the choice to live through the fire and not be consumed by it. I can't save the world, but for the ones I can help, I know that my speaking out matters to them. I CAN inspire other black people with messages of hope and responsibility, not judgment or ethical imperatives.

William Brawner 27 years old, Philadelphia Diagnosed in 1980

I believe that the world must see an African-American heterosexual male who looks great, has a master's level education, and has been HIV-positive for over 25 years. When I tell people who I am, my status, and everything that I have been through, many have a difficult time believing it. That is exactly why my disclosure is so important. When I was a child, there was no place other than summer camp for HIV-positive kids where I could be myself. But that was for only one week out of the entire year. The rest of the year I lived in silence and denial. It was as a young adult that I told myself that I would create a place for children like me to be comfortable throughout the year. I CAN make a difference by being transparent and letting others know who I am and what I go through as an HIV-positive man.

Christina Rock 22 years old, Los Angeles Diagnosed in 1986

It took me until I was 19 to be comfortable with being public about my status. Before then, I felt so isolated and alone. I didn't really know many people with HIV, and there were even fewer whom I felt I could relate to. When I was 13, though, a group called the AIDS Brigade came to my middle school and talked about HIV. That was the first time I had ever seen someone publicly say they were HIV-positive. In a single hour those people changed my life. Maybe someone I speak to is in the same place as I was then, and just maybe, hearing my story might help them too. I CAN make a difference by showing HIVers that you can live a healthy, successful, and productive life. For the HIV-negative, I want to make them more aware of HIV and what it looks like.

Nate Longtin 27 years old, Boston Diagnosed in 2002

All too often I have seen guys my age taking risks simply because they don't know anyone their age who is HIV-positive. They think that because they don't see it, it's not there--and we know that is not the case. I hope that by being open and just being myself, maybe some of the stigma, stereotypes, and judgment will change. I would love to see a day when anyone who is HIV-positive can live a purposeful, healthy life--free of stigma, stress, and low self-worth. I really feel that these issues can consume people and can result in poor physical health. I CAN make a difference by being open and honest about my status. Encouraging honest, open conversation with each other is key to reducing stress and stigma for HIV-positive people--and will help HIV-negative people be less naive about what HIV is.

Heather Johnson 22 years old, Alpharetta, Ga. Diagnosed at birth

My goal is to open different communities' eyes to know what HIV is and how you can get it, and hopefully change people's minds about the disease. Since I was born with HIV, some people might see it as, "Oh, you were born with it, so you couldn't help it," But no one asks for this disease. Most people who have the virus got infected because they didn't have knowledge of what it was or how you can get it. Also, there aren't many young people in the media right now talking about living with HIV, so hopefully by my being that person out there who is talking about it, others can look at me and say, "I'm not alone., I CAN make a difference by speaking out and not being afraid.

Nina Martinez 23 years old, Decatur, Ga. Diagnosed in 1991

Since my diagnosis as a young child, I thought it was--and still think it is--my duty not to shut up about HIV. I believe the ease with which I talk about my positive HIV status helps others, regardless of their status, become at ease with my status too, it helps them be comfortable with an HIV-positive person. It helps them remember that I am not only a person living with HIV--I'm a person. I CAN make a difference by showing everyone how my life with HIV is undoubtedly life at the core. I fight for it.

Shelton Jackson 28 years old, Baltimore Diagnosed in 1998

My mission is to help as many people as possible in the world see that HIV is just a turning point in life. Having HIV means making some changes in the way you live, but you live until the man upstairs says it's your time to go. For a while I fought the fact that I was becoming the "HIV kid," as some called me. But the first time I got an e-mail thanking me for being brave and telling my story, I cried for a couple of hours I couldn't believe that my story had helped change a life. It was that day I realized that this was my calling. I CAN make a difference by showing the world that HIV is not the end but the beginning of a new life. It is a second chance to live the life you should be living.

David Corbitt 28 years old, Los Angeles Diagnosed in 2003

There are not enough of us out there. And by us I mean people of color who are openly talking about being HIV-positive. For whatever reasons, we don't talk about this disease and how it's ravaged our communities. My desire is to see people be more aware about this disease. If you're HIV-positive, my hope is that you see me and know that you can be healthy and live a normal life. If you're HIV-negative, my hope is that you realize that the person you're sleeping with may look, act, and appear 100% OK but can still be HIV-positive. I CAN make a difference by sharing my story and allowing myself to be the "face" of this disease for as many people as will look at me and then listen to my story.

Duane Quitana 27 years old, Boise, Idaho Diagnosed in 1999

I want to give people hope about living happily despite HIV--about having healthy relationships and accomplishing life goals. And I want to create a compassionate world for every person living with HIV. We know how to prevent HIV; we just don't care--that is, until we are affected, until we have to. We are all affected, and we all have to act compassionately. I CAN encourage people to get tested, to understand what it means to have HIV, to live happier and longer with HIV, and to help family and friends to understand their roles in an HIV-positive person's success in life.

25 YEARS IN A WOLRD WITH HIV

1981

* In its June 5 edition of "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues a report about five cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia in otherwise healthy gay men in Los Angeles. These become the world's first reported AIDS cases.

* The New York Times details "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals" on July 3; this is the first media story on AIDS,

1982

* After categorizing the disease as an epidemic in 1981, the CDC drops the term gay-related immune deficiency for the more accurate acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

* The CDC links AIDS to blood and identifies risk groups: gay and bisexual men, injection-drug users, hemophiliacs, and Haitian natives.

* Gay Men's Health Crisis forms in New York.

* Africa's first AIDS cases are reported.

1983

* In March injection-drug users, gay men, and others considered at high risk are urged not to donate blood, the first case of AIDS from a blood transfusion having been documented in December 1982.

* Luc Montagnier at the Pasteur Institute and Robert Gallo of the National Cancer Institute isolate the AIDS-causing retrovirus to be known as HIV and are named codiscoverers.

1984

* Despite protests, San Francisco closes the city's gay bathhouses and sex clubs.

1985

* The Food and Drug Administration approves an HIV antibody test.

* Blood banks begin screening for HIV.

* In April the first International AIDS Conference is held in Atlanta.

* The American Foundation for AIDS Research is founded, with Elizabeth Taylor as national chairwoman.

* In July actor Rock Hudson announces he has AIDS, bringing mainstream public awareness to the disease; he dies on October 2.

* The first AIDS TV movie, An Early Frost, airs.

* AIDS is now on every populated continent.

1986

* In May, U.S. surgeon general C. Everett Koop issues a report that shocks and inflames many by his calling for public-health measures and sex education to combat the growing epidemic.

* The first panel of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is created.

* Supermodel Gia Carangi dies of AIDS-related complications; her life and death are chronicled in the HBO movie Gia in 1998.

1987

* In March in New York City the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power holds its first protest.

* The FDA approves AZT the first anti-HIV medication,

* In May, President Ronald Reagan speaks to Americans for the first time about AIDS.

* The United States bars HIV-infected immigrants and travelers from entering the country.

* Randy Shilts publishes And the Band Played On, his chronicle of the epidemic.

* Spurred by Sen. Jesse Helms, Congress approves prohibiting tax dollars for AIDS education materials that "promote or encourage, directly or indirectly, homosexual activities."

* The FDA adds label information to condoms saying they help prevent HIV infection.

1988

* The CDC mails the brochure "Understanding AIDS" to all 107 million U.S. homes.

* The first World AIDS Day is held.

1989

* National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci proposes allowing HIV patients access to experimental drugs outside clinical trial settings.

* The CDC issues its first guidelines for prevention and treatment of Pneumocystis paeumonia.

* Following two years of protests by activists, Burroughs Wellcome lowers the price of AZT.

1990

* In April, 18-year-old hemophiliac Ryan White dies; he had received an HIV-tainted blood transfusion five years earlier. The ostracism of White at his school and in his hometown become a symbol of the intolerance shown toward HIVers. In May. Congress authorizes funding for the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act

* Congress enacts the Americans with Disabilities Ace

* AIDS activists boycott the Sixth International AIDS Conference, held in San Francisco, to protest the U.S. ban on HIV-positive visitors.

* Longtime Companion, the first feature film to deal with the impact of AIDS on friends and family, is released. Bruce Davison is nominated fur an Oscar for his performance.

1991

* Spurred by the case of Kimberly Bergalis, who claimed she was infected by her dentist, the CDC recommends restrictions for some HIV-positive health care workers.

* Pro basketball player Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive.

1992

* AIDS becomes the top killer of American men ages 25 to 44.

* Mary Fisher addresses the Republican National Convention as an HIVer.

* In December the CDC adopts a new set of AIDS-defining conditions after activists charge that the agency is ignoring symptoms specific to injection-drug users and women. This causes a surge in the number of new ADS cases that will be reported in 1993.

1993

* The FDA approves the female condom.

* Four French officials are jailed for allowing HlV-tainted blood into France's blood banks. * The Pulitzer Prize is awarded to Angels in America, a play by Tony Kushner about the AIDS pandemic.

* The film Philadelphia, which focuses on an HIV-positive lawyer facing workplace discrimination, is released. Tom Hanks wins the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

1994

* AIDS becomes the leading cause of death among all Americans ages 25 to 44.

* An ad for fashion chain Benetton shows an image of former president Ronald Reagan with Kaposi's sarcoma lesions on his face.

* The U.S. Public Health Service recommends the use of AZT to help reduce the chances of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

* Pedro Zamora, a 22-year-old HIVer, appears on the MTV program The Real World.

1995

* In February champion diver Greg Louganis tells Barbara Waiters in a televised interview that he has AIDS and was HIV-positive during his diving accident at the 1988 Olympics.

* In December the FDA approves saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor. The era of combination therapy begins.

1996

* In July at the 11th International AIDS Conference, reports that combination therapy is helping extremely ill patients regain their health lead to hopes about the effectiveness of what become dubbed "HIV cocktails."

* The FDA approves the first viral load test.

* Voters in California and Arizona pass medicinal marijuana laws to allow access to patients who need the drug to combat nausea and overcome wasting syndrome.

* Jonathan Larson's AIDS-themed musical, Rent, wins the Pulitzer Prize; the play also receives four Tony Awards.

* AIDS researcher David Ho is named Time magazine's Man of the Year.

1997

* In February a report states that deaths from AIDS-related complications fell 13% in the first six months of 1996. This first significant drop in AIDS deaths is attributed to protease inhibitors and combination therapy.

* Combivir, the first multidrug pill, is approved.

* The first reports of antiretroviral side effects like "buffalo hump," "Crix belly," and "protease paunch" are reported.

1998

* Although the Department of Health and Human Services determines that needle* exchange programs are effective and don't encourage illegal drug use, President Clinton does not lift the ban on using federal funds for them,

* African-American leaders declare an AIDS-related state of emergency in black communities and launch the Minority AIDS Initiative.

* In June the U.S. Supreme Court rules that asymptomatic HIVers are protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

* Congress authorizes payments to hemophiliacs infected through unscreened U.S. blood products between 1982 and 1987.

* A report says U.S. AIDS deaths were halved in 1997, down to their lowest levels in a decade. AIDS falls out of the top 10 causes of death among Americans.

* David Ho presents evidence at the Fifth Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that HIV most likely first infected humans in the 1940s or early 1950s. Eventual research verifies the first known AIDS death when HIV-1 is found in the blood samples of an African man who died in 1959. The first U.S. case is traced to a teen prostitute with Kapesi's sarcoma who died in 1969.

1999

* Research concludes HIV was spread to humans by a mutated virus that has lived in chimpanzees in regions of Africa for possibly hundreds of thousands of years.

* The World Health Organization announces that AIDS is the most deadly infectious disease--overtaking tuberculosis-and is the fourth leading cause of deaths worldwide.

* Research teams working independently announce they have discovered cases of newly infected individuals in the United States and Europe who have highly multidrug-resistant forms of the virus.

2000

* The CDC reports that African-American and Latino men who have sex with men have higher HIV infection rates than white men in the same transmission category.

* The U.N. Security Council declares AIDS a global security threat.

* The 13th International AIDS Conference is held in Durban, South Africa--the first time the gathering is held in a developing nation.

2001

* The World Trade Organization agrees to allow developing countries to make or import generic reeds in public-health crises.

2002

* AIDS becomes the leading cause of death globally among people ages 15 to 59.

* Women now account for about half of all HIV-positive adults worldwide.

2003

* President George W. Bush announces the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to fight HIV overseas.

* South Africa, which has the highest number of HIVers in the world, announces plans to create an antiretroviral treatment program.

2004

* Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibb announce a collaboration to combine Sustiva, Emtriva, and Viread into a once-daily, one-pill regimen. The first two attempts fail, but a success, Atripla, is announced in 2006.

* Andy Bell, lead singer of the pop group Erasure, announces he is HIV-positive.

2005

* Roche announces it will stop making Hivid and Fortovase due to low demand; these are the first anti-HIV meds decommissioned.

* The World Health Organization announces that its "3 x 5" initiative-begun in 2003 to get 3 million HIV positive people in poor nations on antiretroviral therapy by the end of 2005--will not reach its target.

2006

* The U.S. House's reauthorization of the Ryan White Act would reallocate funding so that cities hardest-hit by AIDS, such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C., would have ominous funding shortfalls for public HIV resources. Eventually, though, Senate lets the bill die.