Ryan White (1971-1990) Historical Marker

Born in Kokomo, Indiana on December 6, 1971, Ryan White was diagnosed with hemophilia A- a hereditary blood coagulation disorder- shortly after his birth. Throughout his childhood, White received weekly blood transfusions to treat this disorder. In December of 1984, he became gravely ill with pneumonia. A biopsy was completed by his pediatrician later that month and both the 13-year-old and his family were informed that he had contracted AIDS from a tainted blood bank. With a T-cell count of 25 (500 to 1,000 being the healthy average), White was told by his doctor that he only had about his six months to live.

With this in mind, and still incredibly ill, White did not attend school at Western Middle School. However, by the beginning of 1985, he felt well enough to be active again and expressed interest in going back to school. When word of this broke, many members of the community strongly opposed White’s rejoining and were openly hostile towards White’s family. White, who worked as a paperboy, found that a majority of the people on his route canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper, fearing that AIDS could be transmittable through touch. 

On June 30, 1985, his mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, formally requested that her son be readmitted to school. The request was denied. The Whites sued and won their case, with the Indiana Department of Education ordering the school to allow White to take classes. When he was readmitted to school in April, the fear and hatred escalated. Nearly a third of the school's parents and 50 teachers signed a petition trying to have White barred from entering the school building. When this proved unsuccessful, a large number of students were taken out of the school by parents, who then created an alternative school for their children. Western Middle School required Ryan White to eat with disposable utensils and plates, use separate bathroom facilities, and not attend gym class. Harassment of White and his family quickly spiraled out of control, with people on the street often yelling “We know you’re queer” and other homophobic epithets at the young boy. Finally, after someone fired a bullet through a window in White’s home while the family was out, they decided to leave Kokomo at the end of the school year.

Ryan White and his family then moved to Cicero, Indiana where he began high school in Arcadia at Hamilton Heights High School. Musician Elton John loaned Jeanne White-Ginder the money for a down payment on their new Cicero home. Later, when White-Ginder attempted to repay the sum, Elton John used the money to set up a college fund for Ryan White’s sister. On August 31, 1986, Hamilton Heights Principal Tony Cook, other administrators, and a group of students held a warm welcome ceremony for a “very nervous” White. 

While in middle school, the story of Ryan White’s contraction of AIDS and the subsequent harassment he experienced broke in the national news. Ryan White became a poster child for education and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. Countless celebrities and public figures spent time with White in an effort to combat the stigma surrounding individuals with HIV/AIDS. Some even became close friends with the boy and his family. One of the most prominent of these relationships was with “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, who often hosted the family at his iconic Neverland Ranch in California. The pop star later bought Ryan White his dream car- a red 1988 Ford Mustang GT which White drove throughout his high school years in Arcadia. After White’s death, Jackson dedicated the song “Gone Too Soon” on his Dangerous album to White, which he performed as a tribute to his late young friend at the Inaugural Gala for President Bill Clinton in 1992. 

Ryan White lived five years past his doctor’s original life expectancy prediction. However, by age 18, his health began declining sharply. On May 29, 1990, he was admitted to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis due to a respiratory tract infection. Soon thereafter, he was sedated and placed on a ventilator. He died on April 9, 1990. His funeral was attended by over 1,500 people, including Michael Jackson, Elton John, Howie Long, Barbara Bush, and Phil Donahue. 

Four months after Ryan White’s death, Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act- still the largest government program dedicated to helping those living with HIV/AIDS. An extension to the Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in September of 2009. Two years later, Jeanne White-Ginder started the national non-profit Ryan White Foundation, which operated until 1997 when it merged with another charity. She continues to work as an activist for HIV/AIDS awareness. White’s death also inspired Elton John to create the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised $450 million since its creation. On August 30, 2019, a historical marker dedicated to Ryan White was placed outside of the Hamilton Heights Student Activity Center- the former high school which White attended after moving to Arcadia in 1987. 

Arwood, Laura. 'SEE YOU AGAIN SOMEDAY': Historical marker placed for Ryan White, Kokomo Tribune. September 1st 2019. Accessed December 1st 2020. https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local_news/historical-marker-placed-for-ryan-white/article_9f31190a-cb6e-11e9-b3d4-cfd72b642227.html.

Indiana Historical Bureau. Ryan White (1971-1990), Indiana Historical Bureau. 2019. Accessed December 1st 2020. https://www.in.gov/history/markers/4458.htm.

Witchel, Alex. AT HOME WITH Jeanne White-Ginder; A Son's AIDS, and a Legacy, The New York Times. September 24th 1992. Accessed December 1st 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/24/garden/at-home-with-jeanne-white-ginder-a-son-s-aids-and-a-legacy.html.