Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

A Legacy Of Community And Mourning: Aids & Hiv In Central Florida, 1983-1993, Andrew Weeks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Given the primacy of Florida, and in particular Orlando, as an urban center with an above average rate of AIDS and HIV, this study examines how the outbreak of a deadly disease can affect a community. Complicating the response to this scourge, those who were most at-risk were marginalized groups such as those in the LGBTQ community, drug users, and often people of color. As a result, those who occupied positions of political power felt little incentive to curb the epidemic and mocked it by deeming it "the gay disease." As a result of neglect and the lack of investment …