More than three decades after his death, Ryan White (1971-1990) has been honored with the first permanent public statue dedicated to his legacy.
White, who was born with hemophilia, contracted HIV through a contaminated blood treatment in the early 1980s. His battle to return to school after his diagnosis drew national attention and challenged widespread misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. His experience helped reshape public understanding of the disease during some of the epidemic’s worst and most fearful years.
Keep Going
The bronze sculpture, titled Keep Going, was unveiled yesterday at the Indiana Memorial Union on the campus of Indiana University. It depicts the Indiana teenager as a high school student carrying a backpack. Why Indiana University? Because that was the dream. Ryan wanted to attend IU, but he died in 1990, at the age of 18, and just one month before his high school graudation.
The project was spearheaded William L. Yarber (1944-), IU professor, who spent years working to establish a permanent memorial to White on campus. Yarber, a longtime HIV/AIDS researcher and educator, said he wanted future generations of students to learn about White’s courage and the role his story played in changing public understanding of HIV/AIDS. The project was supported through private donations, including a contribution from the IU Dance Marathon. Whites mother and sister were consulted on the project and present for the unveiling.
Sculptor Melanie Cooper Pennington, head of sculpture and senior lecturer in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, spent months researching White’s life before beginning the commission. She studied photographs and video footage and worked closely with White’s family to create a likeness that reflected both his appearance and personality. The memorial also includes a space where visitors can leave handwritten messages of encouragement.
The sculpture’s title comes from a phrase frequently used by White’s mother, who encouraged her son to “keep going” throughout years of medical treatments, legal battles, and public scrutiny.
In 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which continues to provide HIV-related medical care and support services throughout the United States.
Dr. Jill S. Waibel, M.D.
While researching this article, I learned about renowned dermatologist Dr. Jill Stewart Waible and her association with Ryan White for the frist time. In 1987, she was student body president at Hamilton Heights High School when White transferred there. She was officially involved in welcoming him to campus, and decades later credited him with shaping her career path in medicine:
“While president of my class there was a young man named Ryan White who had AIDS. Because I was the student president, I was asked to drive him to school. At that time, people were afraid of AIDS and part of that request was to show you could not contract the disease just by being around someone. During this time, Surgeon General Dr. Everett Koop and Dr. Martin Kleinman treated Ryan. This experience inspired me to become a doctor. I was living in Indiana but actually saw medicine change with Dr. Kleinman treating Ryan. People feared that if they lived around someone with AIDS, they would contract the disease, but of course they didn’t. I knew I wanted to become a doctor in high school/college. Ryan changed the world – he was the face of AIDS. He was someone that didn’t want to be in the public but did it to help others. I got close to Drs. Koop and Kleinman and also met Elton John and Michael Jackson because of Ryan. Medicine changed before my eyes during this time of AIDS. From fear of AIDS to knowledge of AIDS. That inspired me…Ryan White shaped my career path.”
In 1991, Waibel founded the Indiana University Dance Marathon (IUDM) to honor White. Over the years, the student-run philanthropic organization has raised over $30 million to fully fund the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health at Riley Hospital for Children. The IUDM helped fund the White statue at Indiana Univesrity.