R.A. Radley (1951 - January 21, 1994)

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R. A. Radley, a national figure in the fight against AIDS, died on January 21, 1994, at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan. He was 43 and lived in Manhattan.

The cause was related to AIDS, which he had for eight and a half years, the hospice said.

Mr. Radley, known as Russ, was the founding executive director of the Design Industries Foundation for AIDS (DIFFA) in 1986. That made him the first full-time grant-maker to AIDS services and prevention efforts.

He also was a founding board member of Gay Men's Health Crisis; Funders Concerned About AIDS, which represents foundation and business executives supporting AIDS and H.I.V. projects; New York City AIDS Fund; Photographers and Friends United Against AIDS, and the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.

A native of Whitestown, N.Y., Mr. Radley graduated from the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. In the early 1970's he was an assistant to the college's president and designed a marketing and public affairs program for S.U.N.Y. branches. Before working at the design industries foundation he operated a management consulting firm.


AIDS Quilt

Source: www.nytimes.com/1994/01/26/obituaries/r-a-radley-43-dies-national-aids-leader.html

Further Readings:

Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality by Patrick Moore
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press (January 14, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080707957X
ISBN-13: 978-0807079577
Amazon: Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality

The radical sexuality of gay American men in the 1970s is often seen as a shameful period of excess that led to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, the tragic result was an intergenerational disconnect because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive occurrence, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex.

Lifting the'veil of AIDS,' Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art. He presents a powerful yet nuanced snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Moore rescues gay America's past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame, illustrating why it's critical for the gay community to reclaim the decade.

More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Gay Classics