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A Short Biography of Ryan White
Ryan White became, for many Americans, the face of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Born with hemophilia, he contracted AIDS from tainted blood products used to control bleeding. In 1984, when his mother, Jeanne White, told him he had AIDS, little was known about the disease, resulting in a climate of ignorance and intolerance. Ryan's hometown of Kokomo, Indiana united to bar him from school and his family was ostracized by the community. He and his mother successfully sued the school board there to allow him to return to school. His family eventually moved to Cicero, Indiana, where they were welcomed by the community, because of the hostile environment in Kokomo.
Ryan's battle with AIDS and the community put him into the national spotlight. He became a prominent advocate for people with AIDS and spoke of the need for everyone to educate themselves about AIDS and treat those living with HIV/AIDS with dignity. He was the subject of a television movie and he published an autobiography. He died in 1990. Later that year, Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which now provides approximately $1.5 billion per year to care for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Read more about the act.