Objects of Memory
These artifacts were displayed in Chapel Hall during the original run of Left Behind.
Mark Allen Branson (1955-1997)
Not everyone living with HIV dies of AIDS. As medical treatments have advanced, it has become possible to live much longer than in the early days of the crisis. HIV's impact on the immune system may contribute to other health problems, potentially making someone with HIV more vulnerable to cancer or other illnesses.
We remember Mark Allen Branson as an actor, an activist, a teacher, an HIV/AIDS counselor, and a rodeo rider.
Jay Bacon and Clint McKay
Shortly before the end of their lives, Jay Bacon (left) and Clint McKay (right) posed for a photo shoot. Jay was hearing and Clint was deaf, and they journeyed through HIV and AIDS together, dying just a few months apart.
We remember Jay Bacon (1960-1991) as a talented painter and a store manager, full of optimism and generosity.
We remember Clint McKay (1956-1991) as the first profoundly deaf person to graduate from public school in West Texas, a Senior Accounting Representative at work, a board member for Illuminations Theater of the Deaf, and a sign language teacher for friends and family.
Craig Venema (1958-1993)
Craig Venema died at 34 years old, after living with HIV for eight years. He is one of many hearing people honored on the Deaf Lost to AIDS list, having been an active member of the Deaf community.
We remember Craig Venema as a University of Arkansas student, a teacher and job coach, and a dedicated volunteer who kept supporting his community until he could no longer work.
Jerry Ray Wilson (1955-1995)
Jerry Wilson's obituary in the Galveston Daily News did not say that he died of AIDS. This was commonplace, especially when families did not want to acknowledge that their loved one was LGBTQ+.
We don't know if Jerry's family was supportive or not, but Astro Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf member John L. Stout was one of the pallbearers at his funeral. He was buried in Webster, Texas, and his name is on the AIDS Memorial at Forest Park Cemetary in downtown Houston. This is the only surviving AIDS memorial in the city, as the Texas AIDS Memorial Garden - created in 1986 - was torn apart in 2013 to become a bike trail.
Has society moved on from hiding deaths from AIDS? Many LGBTQ+ people still don't have support from their families.
Robert Davis, Jr. (1953-1986)
Robert Davis, Jr. was 33 years old when he died of AIDS. Unfortunately, his obituary says he died "after a short illness" and that he was secretary of the "Astro Alliance of the Deaf." Removing the word "Rainbow," and not mentioning AIDS, was most likely an intentional change by his family to hide the fact that he was gay.
We remember Robert Davis, Jr. as a graduate of the Kentucky School for the Deaf, a student of Houston Community College, and a lover of cowboy hats and bears. His AIDS quilt panel was made by members of the Astro Rainbow Society of the Deaf.
In February 1991, the National Coalition on Deaf Community and HIV/AIDS (NCDH) was established to support community members living with the disease, provide education about deafness to HIV/AIDS service providers, and teach the deaf community about HIV.
The brochure includes an NCDH membership application and a request for names of people who can present on the subject of HIV/AIDS information in the Deaf community. It also mentions the need for "animated signed information on the web."
The 10-page survey asks personal and sexual drug history, how respondents think HIV is transmitted, and how they talk to their partners, family members, and medical professionals about HIV.
Astro Rainbow Society of the Deaf Address Book
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, it could be dangerous to be outed as LGBTQ+ and community organizers kept member information carefully guarded.
This book contains full names and addresses for Astro club members, and some have notes saying "no phone calls" - another form of privacy protection. Some addresses are written in pencil to allow for changes, and others are covered in white-out with new addresses written on top.
The book also contains contact information for the national office of the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf, along with addresses of other regional chapters around the country.
The last few pages list members who have died, haphazardly updated in different handwriting and by different pens over a span of many years.
Neatly handwritten in summer 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, this listing presents a stark illustration of the loss experienced by Texas's deaf LGBTQ+ community.
Of 21 members who died in a six-year period, 19 were from AIDS. Some were mere weeks or even days apart.
Other Astro members from the address book died after this list was made, and their passing was noted next to their address:
- Craig Venema (1993)
- Patrick Saatzer (1994)
- Austin Gabourel (1995)
- Michael Felts (1996)