Reagan Legacy on AIDS Crisis Leaves Bitter Taste in LGBT Community

WNYC News | Mar 7, 2016

Tributes to Nancy Reagan continued to pour in following her death Sunday at age 94. Her legacy runs deep: She is credited with redefining the role of the first lady, championing Alzheimer's research and speaking out against drug and alcohol abuse.

But there is one chapter of her life where her legacy is more in dispute. Many in the LGBT community have taken to social media to criticize the Reagans for virtually ignoring the AIDS epidemic as it grew in the 1980s.

"Ronald Reagan was completely indifferent to the fate of people with HIV and AIDS," said Sarah Schulman, an AIDS historian and English professor at the College of Staten Island.

Had the government and pharmaceutical industries tackled AIDS in the early 1980s, Schulman said it wouldn't have become a global pandemic.

Schulman spoke with WNYC Host Sean Carlson. 

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