More than 120 people across America captured a moment of their day Sept. 21, to show the world the challenges and resolve of living with HIV. The images and stories of that day are now captured in a photo essay, "A Day with HIV in America," published by Positively Aware.
The individuals, couples, families, and groups in these photographs, whether HIV negative or positive, represent a collective portrait of what it means to live with or care for someone with HIV. "The goal of this online exhibition is to help remove the stigma of HIV by shining a light on everyday people coping with the virus, and to advance a community of understanding, care and support," said Jeff Berry, editor of Positively Aware.
Some of the photographs share very private moments in a day of living with HIV. Donna Dane, an HIV-positive mom from Lee's Summit, Missouri, telling her young son goodnight. Ron Hudson from Durham, NC, HIV-positive for more than 26 years, is giving himself an insulin shot to battle the diabetes he acquired while taking antiretroviral drugs. Jonathan Reitan, HIV-positive for five years, fatigued from his daily course of medications, is pictured resting in the arms of his partner, Jonathon Broadwater, who is HIV-negative.
"As I look at these photographs, I'm taken by both the common, day-to-day lives of everyone; people at home, with their families, at work," said Chuck Panozzo, the bassist of the band Styx and himself HIV-positive. "Yet there's a great sense of courage and strength overlying all these images."
The subjects of the photographs range from the notable, including Illinois State Rep. Greg Harris, one of only two state legislators in the U.S. who is openly HIV-positive, to people such as Velietta Dickens Rogers who led a very sheltered life because of her HIV. Rogers, pictured painting at an easel, described how the Stewpot Art Program in Dallas "brought me out of the seclusion of my home where I've been for 18 years ( after being diagnosed with HIV ) ."
Thirty-one images were selected from more than 160 submitted to be included in the November-December issue of Positively Aware. A full showing of many more of these photographs is now available online at the A Day with HIV in America website, www.adaywithhivinamerica.com . Positively Aware will also premiere the photos at the U.S. Conference on AIDS, Nov. 10-13 in Chicago.