Austin Candlelight Memorial

Austin proudly boasts the claim of having the longest running AIDS Candlelight Memorial Service in the State of Texas.  Unfortunately, the weather this year prevented the event from happening.  Eric Crabtree, who has been the driving force since the beginning eighteen years ago, said it was the first time he had ever had to cancel.  He vowed to find some other time to honor the 28 people in Austin who died from AIDS-related causes in the past year.

I had been invited to be one of the speakers, addressing national and international issues related to the AIDS epidemic.  I had spoken at the event in previous years, but I was especially excited about this year.  I had prepared a mildly theatrical presentation, hoping to both entertain the crowd and draw attention to the critical decisions that will be made in Washington this year.  After Sunday’s cancellation, I recorded what I had planned to say.

The video’s call for political action is just as important as it would have been if I had given the speech live, so please follow through and contact the White House and your Congressional representatives.  Anne Child, from the Austin chapter of Results, was at the memorial, ready to hand out instructions.  Please check the results.org website for guidance.

Also, we are making a film to dramatize the very high stakes in the war against AIDS.  It is a "future documentary," set in the year 2030, titled "How We Lost the War Against AIDS."  Right now, we are raising funds to produce the movie.  Please donate what you can at gofundme/war-against-aids and ask your friends to help.  Thanks in advance!

This International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Service is organized by the Global Network of People Living with HIV.  It is held in cities around the world on the 3rd Sunday of every May. Next year’s AIDS Candlelight Memorial Service is slated for Sunday, May 20, 2018. Please Save the Date.