Portrait of Eric C. Wat; photo by Eugene Lee Visuals, used with permission.
In spite of the attendant stigma, Asian and Pacific Islander AIDS activists in the 1990s brazenly talked about gay sex, even in immigrant communities that were supposedly averse to discussing such topics. In this event, writer Eric C. Wat will discuss how AIDS activism influences his writing, read from his novel SWIM (Permanent Press, 2019) and share his ongoing work on a community memoir about API AIDS activism in Los Angeles. He’ll be joined by veteran AIDS activist Daniel Bao. This program is cosponsored by API Equality-Northern California, Kearny Street Workshop and Uncles Social Club.
SPEAKERS
Daniel Bao began his AIDS work in 1986 with the Stanford AIDS Education Project, one of the first student-run AIDS organizations. After graduation, he organized National Condom Week (every February 14 to 21!) and worked at the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Community HIV Project providing technical assistance to Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS organizations as well as LGBTQ A/PI groups throughout the U.S. Daniel now consults in finance with various nonprofits and is currently the finance director at the GLBT Historical Society.
Eric C. Wat has been active in struggles for LGBT, immigrant, and workers' rights for more than two decades. His short stories and essays have appeared in various anthologies and journals. He is the author of The Making of a Gay Asian Community: An Oral History of Pre-AIDS Los Angeles (2002) and is currently working on a follow-up book on AIDS activism in the Asian Pacific Islander communities. SWIM is his debut novel. He lives and writes in Los Angeles.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
This event will take place online. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions on how to join the Zoom webinar as an attendee. The event will also be livestreamed, and then archived, on our YouTube page at https://bit.ly/2UyGVbG.
ADMISSION
Free | Suggested donation of $5.00
Register online here: https://bit.ly/2VSyDL4
The event is limited to 500 attendees.
JOIN THE GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Become a member of the GLBT Historical Society for free museum and program admission, discounts in the museum shop and other perks: www.glbthistory.org/memberships