Elton John on Ongoing 'Fight Against AIDS'
"Thousands of gay men were dying and it seemed like no one cared," he said.
— -- In an op-ed for Billboard magazine's philanthropy issue, Elton John reflected on when AIDS first appeared three decades ago and how it was first seen as a “gay disease.”
"Tens of thousands of gay men were dying and it seemed like no one cared. People who contracted HIV/AIDS were shunned by their own families, turned away from medical providers and treated like they weren’t even human," the iconic musician wrote in his op-ed. "Dozens and dozens of my close friends and many colleagues in the music industry became HIV positive. They suffered and died."
John, who first came out as gay in the 1970's, said the worst part of seeing his friends get sick was there wasn't anything he could do.
"But I knew I had to help," he wrote. "I started small by volunteering and lending my voice to the growing chorus of activists speaking out about the crisis. But I quickly realized that wasn’t enough."
In 1992, he started the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
"We weren’t looking for a cure -- we simply wanted to help people, provide care and support and comfort, and fight the injustices faced by those living with HIV/AIDS," he added.
John, 68, eventually linked up with the likes of Larry Kramer and Elizabeth Taylor to shed the stigma of AIDS.
"I also worked alongside those whose names you might not know, people working tirelessly on the front lines of the crisis in communities most vulnerable to the epidemic and in research laboratories that were desperately searching for treatments and maybe even a cure," he wrote. "Together, they changed the course of history and saved countless millions of lives. I’m proud and honored to have worked alongside them."
John reminded readers that in the early 1990's, AIDS "was the No. 1 cause of death for men ages 25-44 in the United States. Tens of millions of people died around the world."
"But today, thanks entirely to the hard work of activists, HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Instead, it is a manageable chronic illness. We know how to prevent it. We know how to treat it. And someday, we may learn how to cure it," he continued.
But John stressed that there are those still without access to proper care.
"There is still a dangerous lack of compassion for those living with HIV and those at risk of contracting it. As a result, there is a lack of social services and sexual health education, especially in minority, rural and gay communities," he wrote. "I look back over the past three decades, and I vividly recall the pain, the suffering and the loss. It is unimaginable. It is unforgettable. But I also feel more hope and confidence and excitement than ever before, because we all have the power to make a difference -- each and every one of us."