For World AIDS Day this past Saturday, December 1, I read an excerpt from my novel Sin Against the Race. The story involves Alfonso Rutherford Berry, III, a young black gay man coming into his own, mourning the loss of his cousin Carlton, a long term AIDS survivor. Here, taken from Chapter 20, Alfonso explains to his African-American Sociology class how Carlton actually died. Check it out!
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I’m wearing my old ACT UP/East Bay t-shirt. The group started in 1989 in my apartment at that time. We addressed several issues related to AIDS in Oakland and Berkeley, including access to care and education about the disease. My involvement in ACT UP continues to inform much of my writing, including Sin Against the Race.
One of our co-founders, John Iversen, himself a long-term survivor, passed away in early October. John was a stalwart activist for AIDS, healthcare, Native American rights, and many other progressive issues. And he was a supportive friend. I dedicate this reading to him.
FIGHT AIDS! FIGHT BACK! ACT UP!
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