Ryan White

Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13. He and his mother Jeanne White Ginder fought for his right to attend school, gaining international attention as a voice of reason about HIV/AIDS. At the age of 18, Ryan White died on April 8, 1990, just months before Congress passed the AIDS bill that bears his name – the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act. The legislation has been reauthorized four times since – in 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2009 – and is now called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

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White's highly visible public lawsuit and determination to go to high school allowed the media to focus on the disease and to change public perception about it. The resulting publicity also resulted in more serious efforts on the part of the federal government to combat the disease. In August 1990, Congress passed "The Ryan White Act" to provide federal funds to research and help those afflicted with AIDS.

Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

• Who Was Ryan White?, Wikipedia, Find A Grave Memorial# 1612 (there are 3,148 virtual "flowers"), official website