Don’t Rewrite History

On December first, we celebrated World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is a time to acknowledge the results of our investments in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, remember those we have lost in the struggle against this disease, and stand in solidarity with the millions across the globe who continue to fight against it. During the week of celebration, I had the privilege of attending several events to commemorate this momentous occasion.

I was fortunate enough to see President George Bush — a man whose policy I rarely agreed with over the years, including our largest disagreement over engaging in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite our policy differences however, President Bush and I did connect on the shared goal of tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis.

I have been working on this issue for decades. Upon the retirement of the late, beloved Congressman Ron Dellums, who was a champion of global health initiatives and so many other issues of equity and justice on the global scale, I won his Congressional seat. In 1999, I introduced legislation to create an “AIDS Marshall Plan for Africa” with his input and in 2001, I brought this issue up to President Bush in the Oval Office.

He asked about the beaded red ribbon I wore to the White House that day. I explained to him what was taking place in Africa and the disproportionate impact this deadly disease was having in the Black community in the United States.

Along with the Congressional Black Caucus, I worked with President Bush and others in Congress — both Republicans and Democrats — to craft a global HIV/AIDS legislative package. He pledged the investment at his State of the Union Address, and in May 2003, we passed H.R. 1298, the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. That legislation established what we now know as PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Since then, because of bipartisan, bicameral efforts in Congress, PEPFAR has provided billions address the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary of PEPFAR and because of it, we’ve seen incredible progress towards our goal of an AIDS free generation. But as we prepare to celebrate this milestone, we must not allow history to be misrepresented.

It was years of hard work on both sides of the aisle, from lawmakers, activists, and advocates alike that got us to where we are today. I was proud to have been at the bill signing by President Bush, which was the culmination of tough negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. Notably there was a Republican president, Democrats were in the minority in both chambers, and the bill passed by a vote of 205 Democrats and 230 Republicans.

People like President George Bush and Senator Bill Frist were noble partners in this effort and deserve staunch praise for their work to make this progress, as well as the staff who continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes. The efforts of warriors like the late, great Congressman Donald Payne, Senator John Kerry, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and artists and activists like Bono cannot be forgotten either.

However, let’s make one thing clear: the creation of PEPFAR and the Global Fund would not have happened without the work of the Congressional Black Caucus and the sacrifice of countless Black HIV/AIDS activists who made extreme sacrifices for the progress we see today. There was no “white savior” in this fight, as the imagery so frequently seen of African children being cared for by white volunteers would suggest.

Systemic racism plays out in many different ways, but among the most harmful is the white-washing of our history. As we witness the efforts to take the history of the U.S. government’s legal institution of slavery out of American history books today, we risk — yet again — seeing the denial of the stories of Black leadership in this and countless other social and political movements.

In the fight for our freedom, courageous warriors like Leonard Grimes and Sarah Parker Redmond are disregarded as abolitionists, while William Lloyd Garrison and John Brown are crowned as heroes of the movement.

In the fight for women’s rights and suffrage, Mary Church Terrell and Ida B. Wells take a backseat to the praise of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton.

And in the fight for reproductive freedom, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Byllye Avery are overlooked compared to the heroic work of Emma Goldman and Margaret Sanger.

As I reflect on the events of last week and begin strategizing the work we will continue to do as we approach the 20th anniversary of PEPFAR, I cannot help but think of the sacrifices made by so many over the last two decades to see the progress we’re seeing now. Globally, AIDS-related deaths have been cut by almost two-thirds and new HIV infections have been reduced by more than half since their respective peaks. But as we saw in the COVID pandemic, there were major setbacks. Success is not inevitable; more work still needs to be done.

It would be a grave mistake to try and rewrite the history of the fight against HIV/AIDS by excluding the efforts of the African American community, including the Congressional Black Caucus. Our history cannot be erased, and our impact cannot be denied. With each milestone we reach and anniversary we celebrate, we must acknowledge the work of all people involved in the fight — man or woman, Democrat or Republican. We must continue fighting with the global community, including Africa and the African Diaspora. Without a clear understanding of our past, we’ll never reach our full potential for our future.