C2EA Virginia founder heads to Oxford with the Stand Against AIDS
Fordham at AIDSWatch 2008
This article is one of a series of Update profiles of men and women who will be leading activist caravans as part of the Stand Against AIDS, a multi-arm, multi-week advocacy road trip aimed at getting presidential hopefuls Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to commit to taking meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Strategy within 100 days of taking office. The caravans kick off in mid-September and converge in Oxford, Mississippi on September 23 for four days of action. The first debate between Obama and McCain takes place in Oxford on September 26.
In Virginia, AIDS is often the "pink elephant in the room," said Greg Fordham of Norfolk. "No one wants to talk about it, but sooner or later you're going to step on it." In Gastonia, South Carolina a woman told him that "if you come here talking about HIV, people will walk out."
But attitudes like this make Fordham all the more determined to step on that elephant—and to lead the Stand Against AIDS caravan. Beginning with a town hall summit in Norfolk on September 19, the caravan will travel from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to Oxford starting the next day.
Fordham said a key to fighting for a National AIDS Strategy is for people with AIDS to simply disclose their statuses. "The reason we're discarded most of the time is because people don't realize it's you they're talking about. It's just 'those people, those people.' I became an activist when I realized I was one of 'those people' they were talking about," Fordham told the Update in February. Along with being the founder of C2EA's Virginia chapter, Fordham is a member of the Ryan White Planning Council.
Long-term fighter
Fordham was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, and in 2003 faced another challenge when he lost both of his legs in a car accident. "I fight for a lot more now," he said. "Before it was just about HIV, but now it's about people with disabilities too." He said he faces stigma as someone with disabilities. "Because you're in a wheelchair people feel extra sorry for you, but my brain didn't change," he said.
As the caravan sweeps the southeast, it will blend both local concerns such as how city council officials in Richmond should address HIV, with national issues like calling for a National AIDS Strategy. Fordham is excited for the "message in a bottle" part of the Stand Against AIDS, where participants at each caravan stop will put in a message in a bottle explaining what they want to be addressed by a National AIDS Strategy. "A lot of times people don't know about the national issues," Fordham said. "I gave a speech in August where I spoke about the immigration policy and I'm surprised how many people didn't know about the immigration policy, but I didn't know about it before either."
The chance to educate people makes planning the caravan worth it, even though it's taken more time than Fordham, 48, originally anticipated. "It's hard work!" Fordham said. "I honestly thought I would just have to call a few people. But I can see the pay-off in the end."
For more information on the Stand, go to c2ea.org or call 877-ENDAIDS (363-2437) or contact Valencia Robinson at (601) 944-1403.