The following piece contains mentions of homophobia, discrimination, and death. Here at FUNKY BROWN CHICK, Inc., we are committed to providing informative and respectful information. Please proceed thoughtfully and prioritize your well-being.
When people are dying and no one seems to care, artists show up. They tell stories. They create change because they demand action. We saw this during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, when theater producers transformed stages into battlegrounds for healthcare justice. While science has brought us incredible progress in HIV treatment and prevention, we’re watching politicians try to drag us backward with dangerous myths and discriminatory policies.
At FUNKY BROWN CHICK (and around the world), we’re still witnessing how art breaks silence, challenges power, and saves lives. The lessons from theater’s response to the AIDS crisis are a blueprint for fighting healthcare injustice today.
You probably have heard of the musical, RENT. You might have even seen Angels in America or The Normal Heart. But what you may not know is how these artistic works fundamentally changed how the United States responds to health crises. We’re still building on that foundation today.
When Government Healthcare Failed: The 1980s HIV/AIDS Crisis
When President Reagan refused to even say the word “AIDS” until 1985 – by which point more than 5,000 people in the U.S. had already died – artists refused to be silent. While his press secretary literally laughed off questions about the “gay plague,” theater makers were already sounding the alarm. When powerful institutions failed, artists stepped into the void.
We’ve been here before. We fought. And despite devastating losses, we won. The story of how artists transformed the HIV/AIDS crisis from a stigmatized “gay disease” into a public health revolution that changed healthcare forever offers a powerful lesson: art can overcome even the most entrenched institutional resistance.
The Artists Who Changed Healthcare History
Angels in America: Exposing Power & Prejudice
Tony Kushner’s epic two-part play did more than win awards – it ripped the mask off political hypocrisy. Through the character of Roy Cohn, a real-life Republican power broker who died of AIDS while publicly denying his sexuality, Angels in America showed how prejudice and politics literally killed people. The play’s unflinching portrayal of both supernatural visions and brutal realities forced audiences to confront uncomfortable truths. That the most privileged among us could fall victim to a virus that didn’t care about political connections, and that silence from those in power was a death sentence.
RENT: Making the Invisible Visible
When Jonathan Larson’s rock musical burst onto Broadway in 1996, it changed the face of AIDS advocacy forever. Through characters like Angel, Mimi, Roger, and Collins, RENT brought the epidemic into mainstream consciousness. Young people couldn’t look away from characters their own age facing mortality, stigma, and the brutal realities of accessing healthcare while poor. The show did more than humanize the crisis – it created a generation of healthcare advocates who understood that public health affects everyone, not just “other people.”
Tick, Tick…BOOM!: The Story Behind the Revolution
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2021 film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical did something revolutionary. Tik, Tick…BOOM! showed us the artist behind the activism. Through Larson’s own story of creating art while watching his community die, we see how personal loss fueled creative resistance. The film shows us how RENT itself was shaped by the urgency of the AIDS crisis, portraying artists not just as storytellers, but as witnesses and warriors in the fight for public health. While set in the past, its release during the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us that artists remain essential voices during health crises.
How to Survive a Plague: Documenting the Revolution
Some stories are too important to wait for Hollywood. David France’s groundbreaking documentary captured AIDS activists as they literally created a map for patient advocacy in modern healthcare. The film showed ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) members teaching themselves the science they needed to fight for their lives. This created unprecedented collaborations between patients and researchers that transformed how we develop treatments today. Their tactics – from dramatic protests to sophisticated research proposals – still guide healthcare advocates fighting for change.
These stories were weapons in a battle for public health. For instance, when The Normal Heart premiered in 1985, it included updated death counts nightly. Angels in America forced audiences to confront how politics impacts healthcare access. And RENT and Tick, Tick…BOOM! showed younger generations that this crisis affected everyone, not just people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community that society found easy to ignore.
Diversity in Healthcare Stories: Beyond the Initial Narrative
By 1996, HIV/AIDS affected Black communities more than any other racial group. Women weren’t even included in the definition of AIDS until 1993, despite 18,500 women in the United States dying of AIDS by 1992. And while there were theater works written to address the HIV/AIDS crisis affecting various communities, the shows that made it to the limelight were not so varied.
Cheryl L. West’s “Before It Hits Home” broke ground as the first full-length play examining HIV/AIDS in African American families. Rhodessa Jones’s Deep in the Night amplified Black women’s voices through powerful monologues drawn from real interviews.
The play, “H.I. Vato,” powerfully illustrated how medical racism compounded the healthcare crisis. When a doctor renamed “Alberto” to “Albert” and sent him away without guidance or support resources, the play exposed how cultural erasure in healthcare settings leaves lasting wounds. Through this seemingly simple interaction, audiences witnessed how discrimination creates barriers to life-saving care.
Artists & Nonprofits: Partners in Change
The artists who created these groundbreaking works weren’t working in isolation. They were part of a larger movement where creativity and activism collided to create real change. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS emerged from theater companies that refused to watch their communities die. They created direct service programs, raised millions for research, and built networks connecting healthcare providers with underserved communities.
What made this partnership between artists and nonprofits so powerful? Artists brought visibility and emotional resonance to complex healthcare issues. Nonprofits provided the infrastructure and expertise to turn that awareness into action. Their initiatives provided:
- Direct healthcare services and coordination
- Housing assistance for patients
- Mental health support including suicide prevention
- Legal advocacy services
- Meal delivery and palliative care programs
The Impact Beyond the Stage
When Equity Fights AIDS formed in 1987, it started with theater people helping their own. But the vision quickly expanded. By 1993, the organization had merged with Broadway Cares and was providing millions in direct support for everything from medication to meals-on-wheels. This wasn’t just charity – it was a new kind of healthcare delivery system, born from the creative community’s response to institutional failure.
ACT UP’s dramatic protests made headlines, but their partnership with artists made history. Their iconic “Silence = Death” campaign, created with artist collective Gran Fury, didn’t just raise awareness – it changed how we communicate about public health. These collaborations showed that artists and activists working together could accomplish what neither could do alone.
Creating Change Today
Here’s what we learned from the HIV/AIDS crisis: art breaks through silence. Art transforms statistics into stories. Art moves people to action. And when artists and nonprofits work together, they create change that lasts for generations.
At FUNKY BROWN CHICK, we see these lessons playing out in real time. Today’s healthcare challenges – from COVID-19 to racial disparities in medical care – need the same kind of creative response that transformed the AIDS crisis into a movement for change. And just like then, artists and nonprofits hold the key to making that change happen.
The Next Chapter: Your Role in Healthcare Advocacy
Artists: Your voice matters now more than ever. Whether you’re creating theater, visual art, film, or music, you have the power to make invisible health issues visible. To turn abstract policy debates into human stories. To move audiences from awareness to action.
And nonprofits: You’re the bridge between artistic vision and real-world impact. Your expertise, infrastructure, and community connections can turn powerful creative works into lasting change. Partner with artists to tell your story, amplify your message, and build movements that transform healthcare access for all.
Take Action Now
Ready to create change through art? FUNKY BROWN CHICK specializes in:
- Digital strategy development for healthcare advocacy
- Data analytics to demonstrate impact
- Narrative change and storytelling
- Fundraising campaign development
- Voter engagement for healthcare initiatives
Let’s write the next chapter in healthcare advocacy together. Contact us at smile@funkybrownchick.com or call +1 (202) 643-3492 to discuss how we can help your organization use art to create lasting change.
The artists who transformed the AIDS crisis showed us what’s possible when creativity meets courage. Now it’s our turn to carry that legacy forward.
