“I am a PWA [Person With AIDS], diagnosed on Oct. 2, 1987. I am certainly no activist, only a person living with a serious illness, trying to make the most of life. I represent a growing number of people who unfortunately are not able to share their thoughts and experiences, but if I could help one person open his mind to this problem, I would feel like I made a difference.” – Tom Fox
October 2, 2022 marked the 33rd anniversary of Tom Fox’s AIDS diagnosis. Fox grew up in Bloomington, graduating from Bloomington High School South, and later, Indiana University. To celebrate Fox’s life and share his story with the community, IU partnered with the Kinsey Institute to feature an exhibit of 60 photos of Fox throughout various stages of his battle with AIDS.
The original photos, taken by photojournalist Michael A. Schwarz, were part of a 16-page special section published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1989, along with a story written by the paper’s medical writer, Steven Sternberg. Fox decided to share his struggles with the country to help shed light on the AIDS epidemic and put a face to the disease that was so stigmatized and misunderstood.
In his first letter to Sternberg, Fox explained why he thought documenting his experience was important. “I am a PWA [Person With AIDS], diagnosed on Oct. 2, 1987. I am certainly no activist, only a person living with a serious illness, trying to make the most of life. I represent a growing number of people who unfortunately are not able to share their thoughts and experiences, but if I could help one person open his mind to this problem, I would feel like I made a difference,” Fox wrote.
The exhibit was organized by Liana Zhou, Kinsey’s director of Library and Special Collections and Cindy Stone, a senior lecturer emeritus at IU’s Kelley School of Business. The photos in the exhibit were curated by Chelsea Sanders, Director of Untitled Light Gallery, Claude Cookman, professor emeritus, and Dennis Hill, a designer with IU studios.
Liana Zhou, Kinsey Director of Library and Special Collections
Plans for the exhibition had been in the works since 2019. Then, COVID-19 put everything on hold. Fox’s parents, Robert and Doris Fox, were involved in the whole process and donated some of their son’s belongings to Kinsey. After learning of Fox’s diagnosis, his parents became activists in the gay community, launching a Bloomington chapter of Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in 1992. They continued their advocacy and education until their deaths in 2020. The exhibit is dedicated to them.
Fox’s photos hung in Maxwell Hall on campus from August 5 to September 23. It wrapped up with a reception and program with addresses from IU President Pamela Whitten, Steven Sternberg, Michael Schwarz, and Senior scientist at Kinsey, Dr. William Yarber.
Dr. William Yarber, Senior Scientist at Kinsey.
Tom Fox died of AIDs in 1989, 18 months after he was diagnosed, and eight years after the first cases of the disease were reported in the United States.
For more information on the exhibit and the work that went into it, go to the exhibit’s website.
