GMHC and NYPL Present 'Library & Leaders: 35 Years of AIDS'

On Wednesday, October 26, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and the New York Public Library (NYPL) will host "Library & Leaders: 35 Years of AIDS," from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Library Main Branch located at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan.

"What an honor it will be to host this forum at the New York Public Library, one of the city's greatest institutions, and have a discussion among two of our founders and other leaders in the field about 35 years of AIDS," said GMHC CEO, Kelsey Louie. "I am inspired by the energy and dedication that activists in the 1980s and 90s spent fighting the epidemic, and caring for their loved ones. Currently and looking forward, what concerns me most is the sense of complacency around HIV and AIDS. There is still lots of work to be done."

The discussion will feature GMHC co-founders, Larry Kramer and Larry Mass, MD., as well as C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO of National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, and Johanne Morne, Director of the New York State AIDS Institute. This panel discussion will be moderated by Kelsey Louie, CEO of GMHC, and features GMHC's co-founders, government officials and community leaders.

The purpose of this public forum is to engage leaders, activists and advocates in a discussion about the 35-year history of the AIDS epidemic, landmark moments in the fight to end AIDS, and what is needed to end the epidemic by 2020. The event will be highlighted by an exhibition of GMHC's archived materials, housed in the New York Public Library Gay and Lesbian Collections and HIV/AIDS Collections.

Timing includes a reception, exhibition of archival materials and discussion. The event is open to the public with registration required at events through the NYPL.

Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is the nation's leading provider of HIV/AIDS care, prevention services and advocacy, serving nearly 10,000 people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS in New York City, the epicenter of the epidemic in the U.S. As the world's first HIV and AIDS service organization, GMHC is an expert in providing services that every person affected by the epidemic deserves.

GMHC is on the front lines caring for people who are both HIV negative and positive, including: testing, nutrition, legal, mental health and education services. GMHC also advocates for stronger public policies at the local, state and federal level with the goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic in New York State by 2020.

Most recently, GMHC and other HIV and AIDS organizations successfully persuaded the federal government to recommend widespread use of PrEP, a new daily treatment that is over 90% effective in preventing HIV infection.

"Library & Leaders: 35 Years of AIDS," will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Library Main Branch, Trustees Room, 5th Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. Click here to RSVP.