Random Devastating PhotosThat Single-Handedly Changed Public Opinion On AIDS Crisis (10 items)

• (#2) HIV And AIDS Were Widely Misunderstood And Overlooked In The 1980s

  HIV and AIDS were largely regarded as a problem solely for gay people. Because of the prejudices surrounding homosexuality, the suffering of those who were infected was widely overlooked, and at the time this photo was taken, activists were still lobbying for the government to speed up the development of new, life-saving drugs.

  It took years for the White House to create an office of National AIDS Policy, and Kirby never saw it happen in his lifetime.
• (#8) Therese Frare Never Profited From The Photo Despite Controversy

  When Frare was welcomed into Kirby's hospital room, she asked him if it was okay to take his picture. As an activist, Kirby wanted to get the word out about the devastation of AIDS and what it does to communities and families. He agreed to be photographed as long as Frare didn't profit from the photos.

  Frare has always kept her promise – but initially thought no one would ever see the picture anyway.
• (#9) David Kirby's Mother Remained In Full Support Of The Benetton Campaign

  As it turned out, Benetton didn't just blindly use the haunting image of David Kirby. They got permission from his family who were completely behind the ad campaign. In an interview, Kay Kirby, David's mother, revealed that she had no reservations about letting Benneton use the photo in their ad. She said,

  My son more or less starved to death at the end. We just felt it was time that people saw the truth about AIDS, and if Benetton could help in that effort, fine. That ad was the last chance for people to see David — a marker, to show that he was once here, among us.
• (#6) Frare's Photo Won Awards For Bringing Humanity Into An Overlooked – And Ostracized –Issue

  Frare's image of Kirby helped bring humanity to a disease most people didn't think could ever affect them. It did this by showing the grief-stricken faces of Kirby's family – as well as David himself's suffering humanity – and it was powerful. It's estimated that Frare's image has been seen more than one billion times over the last 20 years.

  It appeared in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and TV stories, and Frare won numerous awards including the World Press Photo Award – but it wasn't without controversy.
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  (#5) Kirby's Parents Asked Frare To Come Inside The Room And Document His Last Moments

  According to Frare, who spoke about the photograph in an interview with TIME, staff members came and got Peta so he could be with David on the day of his death. Peta brought Frare with him, but she waited outside of the room, until Kirby's mom had a special request.

  I stayed outside David's room, minding my own business when David's mom came out and told me that the family wanted me to photograph people saying their final goodbyes. I went in and stood quietly in the corner, barely moving, watching and photographing the scene. Afterwards I knew, I absolutely knew, that something truly incredible had unfolded in that room, right in front of me.
• (#10) After David's Death, The Kirbys Made A Promise To Take Care Of Peta

  It wasn't long after Kirby's death and the media circus surrounding Frare's photograph that Peta, the reason the photo was made possible, fell ill. Peta had been HIV-positive while caring for David, and the Kirbys vowed to take care of Peta the way he had taken care of their son. The Kirbys spent time with Peta, comforting him and trying their best to relieve his pain and loneliness at the end. He passed away in 1992.

  Kay Kirby knew this would be her life path. She said she had "made up my mind when David was dying and Peta was helping to care for him, that when Peta's time came — and we all knew it would come — that we would care for him. There was never any question. We were going to take care of Peta. That was that."

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