Keith Cylar
Radical pioneer in U.S. AIDS movement
By Imani Henry
Hundreds of email tributes and dozens of
obituaries have been circulating on the internet and appearing
in newspapers across the country about the death of Keith
Cylar, one of the most prominent AIDS activists in the U.S.
Cylar, a founder and co-president of the country's largest
community-based AIDS service provider, Housing Works, Inc.,
died on March 5. He was 45 years old.
An African-American born in Norfolk, Va., Cylar was
diagnosed with AIDS in 1989 and had lived with HIV for over 20
years. Last year he developed cardiomyopathy, a serious
enlargement of the heart, which eventually took his life.
An unapologetic radical, Keith worked tirelessly to forge
links between the fight against the global AIDS pandemic and
the broader social justice movement. At the same time he was a
compassionate service provider who inspired thousands of New
Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS to take charge of their lives by
fighting back against the system that oppressed them on a
day-to-day basis.
Trained as a clinical social worker with a masters' degree
from Columbia University, he joined the New York chapter of the
groundbreaking AIDS activist organization, ACT-UP (AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power) in 1987. Keith soon organized and
led ACT-UPHousing Committee.
With the battle cry, "Housing works! Shelter kills!" in 1990
he founded Housing Works, Inc., with his long-time partner,
Charles King, and lawyer Virginia Shu bert. It responded to the
growing twin crises of homelessness and HIV/AIDS which were not
addressed by the U.S. government. By demanding city, state and
federal funding for housing and services, under Keith's
leadership Housing Works became a pioneering force in both
direct service provision and advocacy, with an annual operating
budget approaching $30 million.
Cylar served on the board of the Nat ional Harm Reduction
Coalition. Harm Reduction is a non-judgmental AIDS prevention
philosophy that allows people who have been chemically
dependent on drugs and alcohol to set achievable goals towards
improving their lives while decreasing the risk associated with
drug use. With this guiding principle, Housing Works did not
turn away anyone in need of services simply because they were
still using drugs.
According to a Housing Works statement, "Mr. Cylar played a
leading role in the development of federal legislation to
create and fund HIV/AIDS service programs, including the Ryan
White CARE Act, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, and
HIV-related substance abuse and mental health services. Under
the stewardship of Mr. Cylar and his partner Charles King,
Housing Works became a model of social entrepreneurship,
establishing thrift stores, a used book café, food
service and catering operations and other social ventures that
provided jobs for clients and generated millions of dollars in
unrestricted support for the organization."
The statement says that Cylar "was Co-Principal Investigator
on a joint project with the National Development Research
Institute (NDRI) and Beth Israel Medical Center to increase
access to AIDS clinical trials for people of color."
But what distinguished Keith Cylar's leadership nationally
was his understanding that real change took place in the
streets. Staying true to his roots as an activist in ACT-UP,
Keith led dozens of direct actions, local and national
protests. Keith, who himself had been arrested in civil
disobedience over 50 times, helped to mobilize primarily
African-American and Latino people living with AIDS and
community-based organizations, aiding in the creation of the
"new" face of AIDS activism nationally.
On Jan. 16, 2001, four clients and staff members of Housing
Works, all men of color living with HIV, made national news
when they were arrested for successfully disrupting the
congressional judicial hearings for the confirmation of John
Ashcroft as Attorney General.
One of Keith Cylar's last arrests was in late December of
2002, at an AIDS in Africa demonstration in front of the White
House.
At that demonstration, Keith's entire speech consisted of
three lines. "We didn't come here to talk, we're tired of
talking. It's time for action." He then joined the 35 other
activists taking arrests that day, some chaining themselves
together while chanting, "Money for AIDS, not for war."
The writer is a former employee
of Housing Works, Inc.
Reprinted from the May 6, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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