U.S. REP. DAVID N. CICILLINE, D-R.I., is the recipient of this year’s Hope Harris Memorial Award, which recognizes persons or organizations exemplifying service to the communities that AIDS Project Rhode Island serves and dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The award, which he received at the AIDS Run/Walk for Life virtual event on Oct. 5, is named after Hope Harris, a former APRI board member. Cicilline has been a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ civil rights and has fought for better funding of critically needed HIV/AIDS services for decades. The former mayor of Providence has been a member of Congress since 2011.
What was your reaction to being selected as the recipient of this year’s Hope Harris Memorial Award? When I heard the news that I was selected, I was thrilled. I knew Hope Harris well and she was so dedicated to ending the stigma around HIV/AIDS and raised money to promote awareness and research for HIV/AIDS. She was an early and incredibly important leader in the fight against this deadly virus when many would not get involved. To receive an award named after her is an incredible honor.
What inspired you to dedicate your commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other LGBTQ civil rights issues? As a member of the LGBTQ community, I lost many friends to HIV/AIDS and remember the fear experienced by so many in the early days of this crisis. From that moment, I have been engaged in the fight to eradicate this disease. I also saw too often the stigma and discrimination that those suffering with this disease experienced. I have dedicated my career to fighting to expand civil rights for all Americans. I think we all have the responsibility to improve the lives of others. For me, fighting for research funding and treatment … is the right thing to do.
What are your thoughts about the administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic? The Trump administration has totally failed the American people. More than 200,000 Americans have died and nearly 7.5 million Americans have been infected with this [potentially] deadly virus, including … the president. We are dealing with a serious public health crisis and an economic catastrophe. We need to use all the tools that we can to help struggling American families.
What are you working on, and what do you hope to accomplish in the fight for gender equality and LGBTQ civil rights? Right now, millions of LGBTQ people can still legally be denied access to housing, education, federal funding, public accommodations, credit and the opportunity to serve on a jury. In May of 2019, a bill that I have been working on for nearly five years passed the House of Representatives – the Equality Act. It prohibits these kinds of discriminations for LGBTQ Americans. The bill has been sitting on [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s desk since then. I will continue to fight for this bill until it is the law of the land. n
(Cicilline asks donors to send donations via text to AIDS Project Rhode Island by texting APRI35 to 44321.)
