Michael Felts
Born
Michael Paul Felts

(1956-08-20)August 20, 1956
RAF Burtonwood, Cheshire, England
DiedNovember 16, 1996(1996-11-16) (aged 40)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of deathHIV/AIDS
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWashington School for the Deaf
Gallaudet University
OccupationActivity
Known forHIV/AIDS activism in the deaf gay community

Michael Paul Felts (August 20, 1956 – November 16, 1996) was an American deaf gay activist.

Early life

Felts was born at RAF Burtonwood in the United Kingdom, the son of SMSgt Walter Earl Felts and Greta Mary Johnson.[1] The family returned to the United States when Felts was two years old, settling in Colonial Heights, Virginia.[2] Owing to his father's military work, the family moved around frequently. He graduated from the Washington School for the Deaf in 1977, and from Gallaudet University in 1982.[1]

Activism

Michael Felts was an activist in the deaf gay community, particularly regarding HIV/AIDS activism. He began his work in California, serving as the statewide coordinator for the Deaf Empowerment and Action for Freedom's "No on Prop 64" initiative.[3] Following his diagnosis of HIV in 1987, where he had no interpreter and was provided with his test results by a handwritten note. His own difficulty receiving information and care, combined with observing how others in the deaf community were treated by medical professionals, spurred him to move to Texas.[4][5]

In 1988, he established the Dallas County Deaf AIDS Task Force Committee, one of the earliest HIV prevention programs focused on the deaf community.[1][6] During his time in Texas, he was a speaker at the 1989 March on Austin for Lesbian/Gay Equal Rights, alongside Cleve Jones, Roberta Achtenberg, Hilary Rosen, and others.[7] After returning to California in 1989, he worked as a statistician with the National Deaf AIDS Project, and produced research identifying gaps in AIDS education for deaf and hard of hearing Americans.[8] In 1991, his work in Texas yielded a commendation from then-Governor Ann Richards.[9] In 1993, he was the chairperson of the National Conference on Deafness and AIDS, and after moving to Washington, D.C. he participated in demonstrations, and was arrested alongside other activists.[1][9][10] In 1995, he founded Deaf AIDS Action, which provided counseling and testing services, a food bank, and other support for deaf and hard of hearing people living with HIV in the nation's capital.[11]

In addition to his HIV/AIDS work, Felts supported other aspects of the deaf gay community. In 1989, he was on the task force that established the NLA: Deaf chapter, which later became International Deaf Leather.[12] He was also co-chair of the 1991 Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf conference.[13]

Death

Felts died at home on November 16, 1996, after living with AIDS for nearly ten years.[1] In 2019, he was honored by the Washington Blade as an "AIDS Hero."[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Michael P. Felts". Deaf Lost to AIDS.
  2. ↑ "New Jersey, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists of Airplanes, 1956–1969". Ancestry.com.
  3. ↑ "Deaf concerns will be aired at meeting". The Dallas Voice. 1988-04-08. p. 21.
  4. ↑ Nora Zamichow (1988-05-15). "Dallas deaf community needs AIDS education, advocate says". Dallas Times Herald. p. B-3. I saw the deaf community suffering, ignored by agencies. These are my people. It's really sad the East Coast and West Coast have a lot going on, but through the Midwest and the South, there's nothing for the deaf.
  5. ↑ Dennis Vercher (1989-02-17). "Answering the unique AIDS concerns of the Deaf". The Dallas Voice. p. 4. When I moved here, several of my friends were HIV-positive. I asked them, 'Do you access any [AIDS-related] services?' and they said there were none at all for deaf people. So I decided to set up the Dallas County Deaf AIDS Task Force.
  6. ↑ "Michael P. Felts". Texas Obituary Project.
  7. ↑ March on Austin (1989). "March on Austin Program".
  8. ↑ David Szymanski (1989-06-25). "Program brings AIDS facts to Bay area's deaf residents". The Tampa Tribune. p. 3-B.
  9. 1 2 3 "AIDS Heroes". The Washington Blade. Vol. 50, no. 48. 2019-11-29. p. 40.
  10. ↑ Maria Marcianelli (1994-05-13). "Three are arrested at ACT UP protest". The Washington Blade. p. 5.
  11. ↑ Sue Fox (1995-09-29). "Promises Yield Partial Payment". The Washington Blade. p. 5. hdl:1961/dcplislandora:250402.
  12. ↑ "International Deaf Leather History". Archived from the original on 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2023-04-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ "Our History of RAD". Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.