History 101 (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - AIDS - full transcript

It's August of 1983,
and Reno, Nevada,

is hosting its sixth annual gay rodeo.

But this year, the public backlash
has been especially harsh.

Out here in the West in the United States,
we believe in rodeos,

and we think homosexuals
are giving rodeos a bad name.

That's not American. That's not rodeo.

They are forcing themselves upon us
and giving Reno a bad name.

Their prejudice
is fueled by terror.

A new disease is hitting
the gay community hard.

It's called AIDS.

Locals have gathered
around 8,000 signatures



protesting the rodeo,

identifying those with AIDS as a threat.

I don't plan on dying from this,

and if he would take the hate he's trying
to generate and turn it into love,

we might find a cure for this disease.

There are
nearly 40 million people worldwide

infected with HIV,

about the population of Canada.

It's hit every continent on the planet.

Africa has suffered the most,

with nearly one in every 25 adults
living with HIV.

Around 25% of those with HIV

don't actually know they have it.

That's over 9 million people.



So far, there's been over
35 million AIDS-related deaths...

almost the same number of people
who are currently infected with HIV.

AIDS is a truly devastating
modern epidemic.

But after four decades
of activism and scientific research,

how far have we come
in finding a cure and battling the stigma?

It makes me f****** crazy.

It's Spring of 1981,

and a mystery illness is exploding

across the gay communities
of New York, LA, and San Francisco.

Men are inexplicably
coming down with cancer

and other mysterious illnesses,

and many are dying within weeks.

Health workers say many patients
have never heard of the illness.

People find out some of these things
through the national press,

and the national press
hasn't give this particular...

syndrome a lot of... a lot of play.

As more cases
are confirmed across the Atlantic,

in Spain and the UK,
it becomes known as the "gay plague."

But nobody understands exactly what it is

or why it's spreading so fast.

Misinformation is rampant.

Of course, the main question
is why only gays get the disease.

Almost everyone
who gets the illness uses this liquid.

It contains a vapor which,
when inhaled, acts on the heart.

In the gay community,
it's used as an aphrodisiac.

But soon it becomes clear.

This disease isn't just
targeting homosexuals.

Hemophiliacs and injection drug users

start coming down with the same symptoms.

And their families, too.

Patrick is a hemophiliac.

He contracted the deadly disease from
one of his regular blood transfusions.

He unwittingly
passed the virus on to Lauren,

who, in turn, passed it on
to their unborn baby, Dwight,

who's now desperately ill in hospital.

She knows that her mommy
and daddy and brother are very sick.

But what sick and dying
means to a child...

Mother ain't gonna die soon...

'cause you ain't very old yet.

It's only in 1982

that this mysterious plague earns a name:

acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

The disease is abbreviated A.I.D.S.

and is referred to as "AIDS."

You've probably never heard of it,
but experts say that illness is causing

the biggest epidemic
in this country since smallpox.

But the general response
from the US federal government

is crickets.

And when the subject is raised
at a White House press conference,

it's treated as a joke.

It's a pretty serious thing

that one in every three people
that get this have died.

And I wonder if the president
is aware of this.

I don't have it. Are you...

- Do you?
- You don't have it?

Well, I'm relieved to hear that, Larry.

Does the president-- In other words,

the White House
looks on this as a great joke?

No, I don't know
anything about it, Lester.

But while the White House
ignores the issue,

the global numbers
of AIDS victims are growing.

Making matters worse,
the federal agencies

best equipped to confront the emergency

have recently had their budgets
slashed by the administration.

It isn't until 1983 that scientists
uncover the culprit behind AIDS.

It's a virus,
and they eventually call it HIV.

The human immunodeficiency virus.

Anyone can be infected.

But still, most of the victims
are men in their 20s.

Tilt your head back.

David is 22 years old.
All the doctors can do for him

is treat his symptoms,
like sore throat and diarrhea,

and cheer him up as he slowly gets worse.

For me, I've pretty much accepted
the fact that I'm gonna die.

So what makes
this virus so deadly?

After decades of research,
we now know a lot more than we did then.

White blood cells play a vital role
in the body's immune system

by recognizing and fighting infection.

The HIV virus might look like
a pretty piece of sea coral,

but HIV is deadly.

The outer coat of the virus locks onto
a particular type of white blood cell.

Over time, these cells are killed off,

and the body's ability to recognize
and fight infection begins to decline.

When the cells are depleted,
the result is AIDS,

and the body becomes lethally vulnerable
to diseases like pneumonia and cancer.

By 1983, AIDS is spreading
rapidly across the globe,

and nations are terrified.

Because still, most people
aren't sure how it's being transmitted.

Like some prison officers
demanding protective clothing,

some policemen wearing masks and gloves
when dealing with homosexuals.

Discrimination and homophobia

start erupting everywhere.

We've had health care personnel
refusing to, uh... to care.

We've had, uh, morticians refusing to...
to bury our people.

I mean, we've run the gamut
of dealing with a panicked response.

Ignorance about HIV
remains rampant.

In December 1985,
a report in The Los Angeles Times

states that half of respondents
support a quarantine of AIDS patients.

Forty-eight percent would approve
of making those who test positive for HIV

carry identity cards.

And 15% actually favor
tattooing AIDS victims.

Recently, a sufferer of the syndrome
fell ill on a flight to Washington.

The airline offloaded him

and told him that his name
was being placed in their computer,

ensuring that they would
never sell him a ticket again.

The following day,
he re-embarked on one of their planes,

this time traveling under an assumed name,

wearing sunglasses and a false mustache.

But then, children start
feeling the weight of the prejudice,

including three-year-old Eve,

who's contracted AIDS
through an infected blood transfusion.

The parents at her school
in rural Australia

are terrified their kids are at risk.

I don't want her to take
any chance of catching it.

- Do you think there's any chance?
- Well, I think there is if she's got AIDS.

The truth is,

the US Center for Disease Control
has already confirmed

AIDS cannot be spread by casual contact.

It can only be transmitted through blood,
sexual intercourse,

pregnancy, and breast milk.

But word has been slow getting out.

By 1984, in Africa,

an estimated 970,000 people are infected.

It's clearly a global epidemic.

The question is, where did it start?

Researchers come up with a theory.

HIV originates in chimps.

Around 1920,
in the Democratic Republic of Congo,

an infected chimp is either eaten
or has its blood mixed with a human's,

perhaps during a hunt.

By the 1960s, it reaches Haiti,

home to many people
who work in the Congo

and who may have
brought it back with them.

By 1980, up to 300,000 people
worldwide are likely infected

without yet knowing what it is...

which leads us back to 1981,

where the first confirmed cases
of what later becomes known as HIV

start to pop up.

And a new epidemic is born.

As the death toll climbs,

the top priority becomes
preventing the spread of AIDS.

We know so little about AIDS,

but what we do know
is how it is transmitted.

And therefore, we know how
it is prevented from being transmitted.

And people need to practice safer sex.

You put the condom on over--
We always give our banana a name.

Let's call this one, uh... Charles.
Call this one Charles.

And then you put
the condom over the erect penis

and roll it down, smooth.

And there you have, uh... Charles
all ready to practice safe sex.

As people
start talking more about safe sex,

condom use skyrockets.

Sales increase 25% from 1986 to 1988.

There's also some progress
towards treatment.

Never before
has so much been known

about a new disease
in such a short time.

Research has proceeded at a frantic pace.

A major breakthrough
has been a new blood test

that should ensure that, in future,

nobody contracts AIDS
from a blood transfusion.

But the number of people
dying from AIDS is growing daily.

When your government fails you,
you self-organize,

and that's what happened with AIDS.

Hundreds of calls
are received here each day

from members
of the public and the gay community.

AIDS patients and their loved
ones start uniting all over the world,

demanding greater access
to experimental drugs,

pleading for more funding,

and taking aim at the bigotry
that's emerging around AIDS.

All gay people must unite

to overcome discrimination
against people with AIDS.

If we do not...

...we will all suffer.

We will all be defeated.

We will all truly be victims of AIDS.

They simply cannot
put us away in leper colonies,

which seems to be what they're--
what they're talking about doing now.

People are looking
for leadership.

But when the president mentions AIDS
at a fundraising gala in Washington, DC,

in support of a policy
to screen immigrants,

it doesn't go down well.

Add the AIDS virus
to the list of contagious diseases

for which immigrants and aliens seeking
permanent residence in the United States

can be denied entry.

It's not exactly
the rousing call to arms

his audience was hoping for.

For many who have been fighting
this battle for years, enough is enough.

It's time to make people and politicians
across the world listen.

- Jose Salles.
- John Ferrera.

In 1987,
on the National Mall in Washington, DC,

activists unveil a massive quilt,
larger than a football field.

Each panel commemorates a victim of AIDS.

And with its 1,920 panels,

the AIDS quilt becomes
a searing symbol of the crisis,

told through a medium
as American as apple pie.

It's one of the many
creative approaches activists use

to bring the nation's attention
to the crisis.

But nobody is more outspoken

than NYC playwright and legendary
gay rights activist Larry Kramer.

I, myself, have lost now
18 friends who have died

in my own immediate circle of friends,
a community.

I mean, it's like wartime when that--

when you have those kind of statistics
that affect you personally.

Kramer helps create
a whole new performative form of protest:

ACT UP,
the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.

I wanna know why I'm being arrested!

With over 140 chapters
and thousands of members worldwide,

ACT UP is not only big.
They're bold, and they're loud.

This is a group of AIDS victims
who've just turned up at the White House

to protest
the administration's policy on AIDS.

And they're hoping to be arrested
to make their point of view.

Activists come
in all shapes and sizes,

including Ryan White,

a hemophiliac diagnosed
with AIDS at 13 years old,

and given just six months to live.

Excuse me.

I became the target of Ryan White jokes.

Lies about me biting people,

spitting on vegetables and cookies
in grocery stores,

and urinating on bathroom walls.

This cute Indiana kid
becomes a poster boy for AIDS campaigns,

supporting fundraising efforts
and raising awareness.

A few months after he passes away,

Congress introduces
the Ryan White Care Act...

creating the largest federally-funded
program for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Public perception starts to shift
in support of those grieving,

and awareness
of the universal threat of AIDS grows.

If American politicians
muddle their response

to the AIDS crisis at first,

other well-known faces
are more sure-footed.

The Princess of Wales
felt not the slightest apprehension

about her visit to the Middlesex Hospital
and its AIDS ward,

according to press reports.

In 1987,
Britain's Princess Diana

helps to dispel ignorance,

by shaking the hand of an AIDS patient.

HIV does not make people
dangerous to know.

So you can shake their hands
and give them a hug.

Heaven knows, they need it.

Some of those infected
are already in the public eye.

In 1985, actor Rock Hudson
becomes the first major celebrity

to announce that he has AIDS.

He dies just two months later.

Sadly, more big names are to follow.

It's soon clear wealth, power, and fame
can't protect you.

But they do put a spotlight
on the desperate situation.

In 1991, the power of celebrity
is harnessed on the red carpet,

where distinctive red ribbons
spread awareness of AIDS.

The activism all starts
to pay off in the '90s,

and it's a good thing it does.

In 1995,
AIDS reaches a sobering milestone,

becoming the leading
cause of death in the US

for people 25 to 44 years of age.

It's a grim high point.
But at the same time,

big changes are happening
in the form of funding and research.

In 1993, President Clinton

sets up the White House
Office of National AIDS Policy.

The National Institute of Health
expands its AIDS research.

And with great funding,

come great scientific breakthroughs
for the treatment and prevention of HIV.

Between 2005 and 2018,

there's a 45% decline
in AIDS-related deaths worldwide.

But one troubling side effect
of all these scientific breakthroughs:

complacency.

In 2017, people under 25 account
for over 20% of new infections in the US.

Only 15% of US high school students
say they've been tested for HIV.

And just 66% percent of American men

aged 15 to 44
use condoms on a regular basis.

As people with HIV live longer,

AIDS is a topic
that has drifted from the headlines.

And with that drift of attention,

we risk a real drift of funding
and of action to beat the virus.

To bring attention
to the cause, in 2016,

Prince Harry takes an HIV test
alongside pop star Rihanna.

We just wanna show people
how easy it is to get tested, and how...

you shouldn't be afraid
of knowing your status, most importantly.

- We should all be afraid of the stigma--
- Of not knowing.

And you should be afraid of not knowing,
afraid of not talking about it.

And we get it.
There is a generational gap here.

And we need to smash through that.

The younger generation coming through
wanna talk about it,

but there's still that stigma.

In 2017, there were
nearly 37 million people worldwide

living with HIV/AIDS.

Africa has been the hardest hit.

Nigeria has the highest
annual death rate,

and Swaziland,
the highest rate of infection.

Unlike most countries, in Russia,
the epidemic is growing.

Not coincidentally, a recent poll
suggested more than half the population

still have a negative opinion
of those identifying as LGBT.

If there wasn't this bigotry and hatred,

that this disease could be eliminated
far quicker than you could ever think.

And until we get that bloody dis--
idea out of our head,

that gay people are less than,

then I am afraid we will still
be sitting here in 20 years' time,

discussing the same f****** thing. Okay?

AIDS activists
have taught us the hard way

that staying quiet can be deadly.

Being visible has helped
mainstream culture

overcome its fear and biases

and embrace people for who they are.

Gay rights!

- When do we want 'em?
- Now!

We've come a long way.

From the grassroots activists,
who first got the world's attention,

to the patients and their caretakers,
who battle HIV every day,

to the scientists on the front lines,
hunting for a cure.

But today,
ignorance and discrimination still exist.

People of all ages and nationalities
are being infected.

The worldwide fight
against AIDS continues.