April 20, 2007
BUCKEYE BASH
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Next year in Ohio Stadium – Leadership 2008! |
Hundreds of PLWAs, front-line staff workers, doctors, nurses, social workers and activists jammed the halls of the charming (not) Midwest Conference Center this week for the Ohio AIDS Coalition’s Leadership 2007 conference, boosting their knowledge on HIV treatment and services, networking – and rededicating themselves to organizing, advocacy and activism.
Our own Christine Campbell and Larry Bryant (he’s on the cover of the May issue of POZ magazine, have you seen it?) conducted a great standing-room-only session on reviving activism through C2EA that looks like it’s going to help kick off a new statewide PLWHA activist network.
And Michael Kink did a teach-in on AIDSVote.org and electoral activism that should pay off during the always-hard-fought battle for Ohio’s electoral votes in the race for the White House next year.
But the piece-de-resistance was a powerful keynote speech by Housing Works president and CEO Charles King, who challenged the thousand-person crowd to end AIDS, poverty, discrimination and stigma through renewed activism and attention to the needs of every community hit hard by HIV/AIDS.
Kudos to everyone from the Buckeye State who traveled to Columbus and worked so hard this week. Ohio activists – OAC and their director Kevin Sullivan surely included – got their new (Democratic) Governor Rod Strickland to turn down President Bush’s abstinence-only sex ed funding this year and we’re sure future advocacy triumphs are in store – hopefully including a C2EA Ohio!