August 31, 2007
SWIMMING LESSONS
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C2EA hits the Yellowhammer State! |
Two-year-old Caleb Glover is sometimes scared of the water, but maybe after he jumps into the Wales West RV resort pool with dozens of frolicking activists from the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) on Monday, the HIV-positive toddler will learn to love to swim. Caleb, his foster mother Silvia and some of his foster brothers and sisters will join some 150 C2EA activists for a "family reunion" at Wales West on Labor Day in Silverhill, Alabama, in order to call attention to AIDS stigma. Caleb was banned from the Wales West pool and showers in July because he has HIV. The C2EA contingent will be swimming, barbecuing and enjoying the holiday in bathing suits that say "HIV Positive."
Wales West owner Ken Zadnichek outraged the country when he barred Glover from the pool, showers and other common areas of his resort until he could verify that Glover wouldn't transmit the virus while using them. The incident gained national attention when it was showcased on Good Morning America. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded HIV can't be transmitted through casual social contact, such as in a swimming pool or through use of toilet. The ACLU recently sent a letter to Zadnichek in which it pointed out that he had no right to ask for medical information related to Caleb and was responsible for knowing that the little boy was not a transmission risk.
In an interview on National Public Radio's News & Notes program two weeks ago, Zadnichek said of the C2EA event, "We equally welcome everyone." When the host asked Zadnichek if the fact that Caleb is black had anything to do with the decision not to allow him in the pool, Zadnichek said, "We have colored people, mixed couples. I'm a businessman. The only color I see is green."
Despite nervousness about her anticipated encounter with Zadnichek, Silvia Glover is excited that Caleb will get a chance to splash in the Wales West pool-even though he's not quite a water baby. "He's a wee scared of the water," Glover said. "He's two! What do you expect? He'll let somebody carry him in their arms though, because he loves people so much." More importantly, Glover recognizes the symbolic import of the family reunion. "This family reunion gives me hope for Caleb's future. Most people don't understand that discrimination around AIDS hurts kids and grown-ups as much as the disease itself."
Dozens of local Alabamans as well as some 100 out-of-state C2EA folks traveling in caravans originating in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Little Rock, are looking forward to enjoying Wales West with Caleb. "We can't wait to hit the road," said Byron Montgomery, chair of C2EA Texas. "I'm looking forward to shining a light on injustice. And I'm glad Mr. Zadnichek is welcoming us."
Glover isn't the only HIV-positive child to have his summer fun interrupted by ignorance. In Rockland County, New York there is a lawsuit pending, as The Journal News reported last month, in which a 10-year-old HIV-positive boy was denied entry to Deer Mountain Day Camp. "If timing was different, we could be going to the New York metro area," said Larry Bryant, C2EA's national organizer. "Stigma and discrimination unfortunately can happen in every community."
To get involved with the Wales West family reunion, e-mail Larry Bryant at bryant2@housingworks.org.