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- April 16, 2009
THE AWARDEES HAVE SPOKEN
The locations just get better and better—but the love, family spirit and activist dedication to ending AIDS are always the beating heart of the best activist party of the year, the Keith D. Cylar Awards and Benefit Gala. This year Esther Boucicault, Gloria González, Diane Williams, Paul Davis and Asia Russell were honored with Cylar Awards at the regal Times Center on Thursday, April 17. The honorees' incredible stories of bravery in the face of AIDS stigma (told in three different languages) prompted standing ovations, laughter and tears. The gala was the culmination of a week's worth of activities associated with the Cylar Awards, given to AIDS activists who demonstrate extraordinary courage and commitment in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The award is named for Keith Cylar, the cofounder of Housing Works and a legendary AIDS activist who died of AIDS-related complications in 2004.
Special guests included the ceremony emcee, TV personality and celebrity stylist Bev Smith, POZ editor-in-chief Regan Hoffman, CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston, Assembylman Dick Gottfried, and 1998 Miss America and current star of Broadway's Legally Blonde star Kate Shindle, who hosted the cocktail party before the awards ceremony.
Read more about the event in the Housing Works AIDS issues update »
Housing Works, the nation’s largest minority-controlled AIDS organization, is proud to present the fourth-annual Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Awards, held on Thursday April 17, 2008 at the Times Center in New York City. Given to those who demonstrate extraordinary courage and commitment in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the award is named for the cofounder of Housing Works, a fearless AIDS activist who died of AIDS-related complications in 2004.
All proceeds from the Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Awards go to the Keith Cylar Activist Fund, which has raised $1.6 million in support of advocacy and activism by people living with HIV/AIDS in America and around the world.