40 Years of Public Health Experiences in the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community: HIV/AIDS
Dublin Core
Title
40 Years of Public Health Experiences in the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community: HIV/AIDS
Description
In the spring of 2020, the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center and the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive received a grant to collect oral histories and written stories for 40 Years of Public Health in the Lehigh Valley’s LGBT Community: Collecting and Curating Local LGBT Health Experiences from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19.
The collection consists of oral histories from individuals who experienced the worst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as oral histories from members of the local community as they lived through 2020's summer of Covid-19. Running through both are the themes of dealing with the fear of an emerging health crisis, loneliness and isolation, and coming together as a community in support and activism.
The project was sponsored in part by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium, with generous support provided by a grant to Lafayette College from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The collection consists of oral histories from individuals who experienced the worst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as oral histories from members of the local community as they lived through 2020's summer of Covid-19. Running through both are the themes of dealing with the fear of an emerging health crisis, loneliness and isolation, and coming together as a community in support and activism.
The project was sponsored in part by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium, with generous support provided by a grant to Lafayette College from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Collection Items
William Aull, June 29, 2020
Bill Aull, for many years a caregiver at the Rainbow Home near Reading, PA, shares his experiences during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. He reflects on specific patients, the role of Catholic Church in AIDS care, and the…
Mitch Hemphill, June 17, 2020
Mitch Hemphill talks about the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. He focuses on working in the local bar; the rise of the Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT) organization; and creating and running his…
Nan Kozul, June 17, 2020 (Part 1)
Nan Kozul talks about the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. She focuses on working in several local LGBT bars, including Candida's; her work in healthcare; AIDS discrimination; the formation of Fighting AIDS…
Nan Kozul, June 21, 2020 (Part 2)
Nan Kozul talks about the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. She focuses on working in several local LGBT bars, including Candida's; her work in healthcare; AIDS discrimination; the formation of Fighting AIDS…
Maria Rodale, June 29, 2020
Maria Rodale talks about the death of her brother David Rodale, which happened during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. She also speaks about her mother’s involvement in local AIDS activism and about the impact of the epidemic on society and…
Charles Versaggi, July 2, 2020
Charlie Versaggi talks about the early days if the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the loss of his partner to AIDS, his work with the Lambda Community Center (formerly Le-Hi-Ho), the AIDS Services Center, and Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT).
Larry Kleppinger, June 18, 2020
Larry Kleppinger talks about the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. He focuses on working at Allentown's Stonewall Bar; the formation of Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT) and his participation as the…
T. Scott Allen, July 2, 2020
T. Scott Allen talks about the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. He talks about his years as an Episcopal minister and his work with AIDS Services Center, about people who had HIV/AIDS, and how churches supported people who were…
David Moyer, June 18, 2020
David Moyer talks about the AIDS epidemic in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. He focuses on his work as a nurse in the Allentown Health Department; shares about local AIDS education, testing, and the experience of notifying people of positive…
Rose Craig, June 30, 2020
Rose Craig talks about her work as the last President of the Gay Community Center in Allentown in the 1980s and how the Center evolved into the AIDS Services Center in the late 1980s and early 1990s to address the crisis. She talks about what…