Panel Discussion - Reflections on the AIDS Journey in West Michigan: Public Health and Community Care (APPROVED INT 100/201)
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Students

This panel will focus on the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in West Michigan. From the beginning of the disease those affected struggled to find medical care and treatments. This was greatly worsened by the social stigma surrounding AIDS as well as discrimination against the LGBTQ community. This panel brings together West Michigan public health workers and LGBTQ community members from 1980s-early 2000s to discuss their experiences.
Panelists will include:
- Jan Koopman
- Michelle Johnson
- Aaminah Shakur
- Tommy Allen
- Gary Van Harn
Our moderator will be Harold Clarke-Lopez.
Location Information
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall & Loosemore Auditorium
Richard M. DeVos Center - Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus
401 W. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Contact Information
Nora Salas
Director, Kutsche Office of Local History
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 616-331-8099
Ryan Moore
Office Coordinator, Kutsche Office of Local History
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 616-331-8099
Tags
academic aids brooks community health history int100 int201 kutsche local
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This event was added to the calendar by Ryan Moore (moorer4@gvsu.edu) on Friday, February 21, 2025 and was last updated on Monday, March 10, 2025 at 10:14 a.m.
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