HIV/AIDS Crisis and HIV Activism
HIV/AIDS Crisis: The peak of a worldwide crisis during the 1980s and 1990s in which millions were infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), with millions dying. The crisis had a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities and men who have sex with men (MSM).
HIV Activism: Individuals or groups working to improve the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS through various forms of political organizing, protests, public policy work, and other activities.
All interviews were collected in 2016-2020 for the Queer Omaha Archives in UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections. The first interviews were collected by Dr. Jay Irwin in 2016 and his students in the Intro to LGBTQ Studies Sociology course in fall 2016. Since 2017, Luke Wegener has collected interviews for LGBTQ+ Voices: The Queer Omaha Archives Oral History Project.
Oral history is one of many sources available to consult as part of your research. It reflects the experience of an individual and shares personal opinions offered by the interviewee in response to questioning. Additional sources can verify and provide additional information to the narrative of events presented in oral histories. Contact UNO Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections to continue your research, find additional sources, or learn more.