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sexually transmitted disease program at the Macon-Bibb County Health Department, nationwide
many people referred to the virus as “the black plague; God’s answer to promiscuity; a new
Leprosy.” “AIDS victims not only face rejection from friends and family; they face
unemployment. Some hospital workers refused to touch them, and some landlords kick them out
of their homes,” noted Rowland.23 With the fear overshadowing the epidemic, it became
paramount that education and prevention reach to the masses.
Fambro Leading Advocacy for HIV Prevention

Johnny Fambro saw how this viral epidemic conjured up fear of the unknown and gave
many others reason to further stigmatize those who identified as gay or transgender. A friend of
Fambro’s lost his job after testing positive for the disease and his family abandoned him.24
Many government officials ignored or downplayed the looming threat in the early 1980s, a
period when thousands of unsuspecting people became infected with the HIV/AIDS virus.25
Fambro was among the first in Middle Georgia to sound a call to action when HIV/AIDS cases
began showing up in the area. Along with his talents of organizing and advocacy work, Fambro
also had a talent of creating a welcoming community where people who might otherwise feel left
out could find a sense of belonging. He noted that “During this era of pre-social media
interconnectedness, often time the only opportunity to meet others who identified as gay or
transgender, especially in rural areas, were gay bars or gay nightclubs.”26 Gay bars and gay
nightclubs often acted as safe spaces where people could gather without threat, and a site for the
development of gay culture and political foment. There was already stigma around being
homosexual, but during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, HIV-positive people often faced a heightened

23 Cheryl Fincher, "AIDS Fear Hitting Home in Macon," Telegraph (Macon), June 26, 1983.
24 "Middle Georgia resource compassion fuels comprehension services at Central City AIDS Network," HIV Risk Reduction 9
(2009): 1-4, https://www.pdffiller.com/en/project/147277139.htm?f_hash=e04b5c&reload=true.
25 Cheryl Fincher, "Heterosexual AIDS spreading, specialists warn," Telegraph (Macon), April 17, 1990, 1B.
26 "The Johnny Fambro Story," interview by author, November 2017. (Michael-Angel León)

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