In a powerful protest at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, HIV activists staged a mock funeral to spotlight fears over federal funding cuts under Donald Trump. Pallbearers carried black coffins as advocates read their own pre-death obituaries, warning that cuts to programs like PEPFAR and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program could cost lives.
Vincent Crisostomo of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation said, “The cuts to HIV funding are not just numbers. They represent lives at stake and potential to undo decades of progress.” Organized by the Save HIV Funding Campaign during AIDSWatch, the demonstration featured voices across LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities. Rev. Elder Carmarion D.
Anderson said, “This is about dignity, and together, we are here not to mourn, but to warn… When HIV funding is cut, lives are being lost.” With chants of “Cuts kill, funding saves,” activists vowed to push policymakers to act before history repeats itself.
