[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 308 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 308

Honoring the life, legacy, and memory of Pedro Pablo Zamora y Diaz, an 
   extraordinary educator and activist, and a pioneer in the battle 
                     against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 31, 2009

 Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Frank of 
 Massachusetts, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
 Mr. Polis of Colorado, Ms. Watson, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Moore 
of Wisconsin, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, and Ms. Lee 
 of California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Honoring the life, legacy, and memory of Pedro Pablo Zamora y Diaz, an 
   extraordinary educator and activist, and a pioneer in the battle 
                     against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Whereas Pedro Zamora was an internationally renowned educator and activist whose 
        courage, selflessness, and zest for life inspired a generation of 
        Americans to confront their fears, misconceptions, and ignorance about 
        HIV/AIDS and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) 
        community;
Whereas Pedro Pablo Zamora y Diaz was born on February 29, 1972, on the 
        outskirts of Havana, Cuba, and was the youngest of Hector and Zoraida 
        Zamora's eight children;
Whereas government officials forced the Zamora family to leave Pedro's four 
        older brothers and older sister in Cuba when the Zamora's boarded a 
        crowded boat to the United States on May 30, 1980;
Whereas by October 1980, 125,000 Cubans had made the journey to Florida in what 
        became known as the Mariel Boat Lift;
Whereas despite the pain of separation, the Zamora family started a new life in 
        Hialeah, Florida;
Whereas the Zamora family was struck by tragedy five years later when Pedro's 
        mother died from skin cancer when he was 13 years old;
Whereas in order to deal with the loss of his mother, Pedro Zamora immersed 
        himself in academics and extracurricular activities, becoming an honor 
        student, president of the science club, and captain of the cross-country 
        team, and was voted ``most intellectual'' and ``most all around'' at 
        Hialeah High School;
Whereas Pedro began having unprotected sex with multiple men at the age of 14 in 
        an attempt to fill the void that was left by his mother's death, and to 
        cope with the insecurity that he felt as a gay youth of color;
Whereas unbeknown to Pedro, the first Surgeon General's report on HIV/AIDS was 
        issued to the public in 1986, around the same time that Zamora began 
        having unprotected intercourse;
Whereas the 1986 report stated that comprehensive sex education was one of the 
        most powerful weapons against the emerging epidemic, and that education 
        should begin at the lowest grade possible to provide scientifically 
        accurate information about heterosexual and homosexual relationships and 
        about preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections;
Whereas the 1986 Surgeon General report estimated that HIV/AIDS had claimed more 
        than 15,000 lives in the United States;
Whereas the report acknowledged that HIV/AIDS had a disproportionate effect 
        among Latinos and Blacks, with 80 percent of all pediatric HIV/AIDS 
        cases occurring in Latino and Black children;
Whereas Pedro Zamora donated blood at a Red Cross blood drive during his junior 
        year of high school and received notice that his blood had tested 
        ``reactive'';
Whereas, six months later, on November 9, 1989, at the age of 17, Pedro Zamora 
        received confirmation that he had contracted the HIV virus;
Whereas the sex education that Pedro Zamora received within his Miami school 
        stigmatized HIV/AIDS, portrayed homosexuality as shameful, and failed to 
        provide him and other students with a relevant, factual, and thorough 
        understanding of HIV/AIDS and healthy relationships;
Whereas Pedro Zamora joined a Miami-based HIV/AIDS resource center called Body 
        Positive where he met others with HIV/AIDS, educated himself about HIV/
        AIDS, and discovered a desire to share his newfound vision for combating 
        ignorance about the disease;
Whereas despite his many academic accomplishments and his initial desire to go 
        into medicine, Pedro Zamora chose to devote his talents as a thinker and 
        communicator to a career in AIDS education and advocacy;
Whereas Pedro Zamora began raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in his local 
        community in South Florida, and especially within the Latino community;
Whereas after graduating from high school in 1990, Pedro began to lecture at 
        schools from the primary to collegial level, churches, community 
        centers, and other venues around the country, and talked about the need 
        for evidence-based education for preventing and managing HIV/AIDS, 
        forming healthy relationships, de-stigmatizing HIV/AIDS, and eradicating 
        homophobia;
Whereas in mid-1993, Pedro Zamora sent his audition tape to the producers of 
        MTV's ``The Real World'', and was chosen out of more than 25,000 
        applicants, to live in front of the camera with six other cast-mates in 
        San Francisco for more than four months;
Whereas in 1994, Pedro Zamora's historic appearance as one of the first openly 
        gay men of color living with HIV/AIDS on MTV's reality television series 
        ``The Real World: San Francisco'' brought international attention to the 
        realities of HIV/AIDS and LGBT issues;
Whereas Pedro Zamora became close friends with fellow housemate Judd Winick, who 
        would later continue Zamora's work by sharing his story and speaking 
        about HIV/AIDS at schools and other venues;
Whereas Pedro Zamora met his future partner, Sean Sasser, during the filming of 
        ``The Real World'', and the two exchanged vows in a commitment ceremony 
        on the show;
Whereas Eric Morgenthaler of The Wall Street Journal wrote a series of articles 
        about Pedro Zamora and his AIDS education efforts, bringing him to 
        national prominence;
Whereas Pedro Zamora also appeared on such television shows as ``Geraldo'' and 
        ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'';
Whereas, on November 1, 1993, Pedro Zamora spoke about living with AIDS at a 
        Capitol Hill reception;
Whereas, on July 12, 1994, Pedro testified during a Congressional hearing on 
        AIDS prevention and said, ``What we need is the collective will to care 
        about young people and about people with different backgrounds and make 
        sure that one day people grow up in a world without AIDS.'';
Whereas in 1994, President Bill Clinton and then-Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services Donna Shalala personally recognized and thanked Pedro Zamora 
        for his leadership and work on the AIDS Action Council Board and for 
        humanizing and personalizing those living with HIV/AIDS;
Whereas, on August 17, 1994, Pedro Zamora checked into St. Vincent's Hospital in 
        New York City with diagnosed toxoplasmosis, a condition which causes 
        brain lesions that result in fatigue, headaches, and confusion;
Whereas this condition resulted because of a severely compromised immune system;
Whereas although the revolutionary antiretroviral cocktails that improve the 
        length and quality of life of persons with HIV/AIDS were not available 
        until 1996, mono-therapies and medical treatments for symptoms were 
        still available to HIV/AIDS patients who could pay for care;
Whereas Pedro, like many young people, was uninsured and could not finance this 
        care;
Whereas Pedro Zamora was diagnosed with progressive multifocal 
        leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare and fatal viral inflammation of the 
        brain that breaks down the electrical impulses of the nervous system;
Whereas, at the age of 22, Pedro Zamora was given three to four months to live;
Whereas with the help of President Bill Clinton, a Zamora family friend Alonso 
        R. del Portillo, then-Attorney General Janet Reno, then-Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and Florida Congresswoman 
        Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, an agreement was reached between the United States 
        and Cuba that would allow the admission of 20,000 Cubans per year, 
        including Pedro Zamora's older brothers and older sister, reuniting the 
        family for the first time in 15 years;
Whereas, on October 21, 1994, Pedro's closest friends announced that MTV created 
        the Pedro Zamora Memorial Fund in order to pay for his medical costs and 
        finance further AIDS research and education projects;
Whereas, on November 11, 1994, Pedro Zamora's family honored his wish to not be 
        sustained by artificial means, and withdrew life support;
Whereas surrounded by his family, friends, and partner Sean Sasser, Pedro Zamora 
        died on November 11, 1994, at 4:40 a.m., the day after the final episode 
        of ``The Real World: San Francisco'' aired;
Whereas Pedro Zamora was buried on November 13, 1994, at Vista Memorial Gardens 
        in Miami Lakes, Florida;
Whereas several Pedro Zamora memorial funds and fellowships have since been 
        established around the country to continue his mission of breaking down 
        the barriers of race and sexuality to raise HIV/AIDS awareness; and
Whereas ``Pedro'', a movie directed by Nick Oceano and written by Dustin Lance 
        Black, dramatizes the life and legacy of Pedro Zamora: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the life, legacy, and memory of Pedro Pablo 
        Zamora y Diaz, an extraordinary educator and activist, and a 
        pioneer in the battle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic;
            (2) supports current and emerging educators and activists, 
        especially those of color and who are multilingual, who adhere 
        to a comprehensive sex education agenda that is rooted in 
        empirical and scientific evidence, is culturally competent, and 
        promotes the tolerance of sexual orientation and the 
        destigmatization of HIV/AIDS;
            (3) addresses the high rates of uninsured and underinsured, 
        lack of education, cultural factors, and lack of knowledge 
        about status that results in less than 30 percent of HIV-
        infected persons in the United States receiving life-saving 
        antiretroviral drugs leading to premature death, disability, 
        and heightened transmissibility of infection, particularly 
        among Blacks and Latinos;
            (4) commits to supporting prevention and treatment 
        facilities and programs in areas and States that have 
        historically and are presently experiencing high rates of HIV/
        AIDS infections and have high uninsured rates, such as New 
        York, California, the rural Deep South, and South Florida;
            (5) commits to adequately supporting emerging and existing 
        programs at the Federal, State, and local levels that address 
        the disproportionate effect of HIV/AIDS on communities of 
        color, particularly young Black and Latino men who have sex 
        with men (MSM); and
            (6) commits to investing in programs and initiatives that 
        are dedicated to providing LGBT persons, especially those of 
        color, with the necessary support, resources, and tools to 
        ensure that the civil rights, dignity, and health of LGBT 
        persons are protected.
                                 <all>