Urvashi Vaid: Remembering and honoring her legacy Honoring The Legacy of Urvashi Vaid, Trailblazing Attorney, Author, and LGBTQIA+ Rights Activist

The world lost a true visionary this weekend with the passing of Urvashi Vaid, a celebrated attorney, award-winning author, and trailblazing LGBTQIA+ activist. Vaid, 63, died on May 14 at her home in New York City after a battle with cancer.

Vaid’s legacy of social justice work spanned decades. From 1983 to 1986, she was staff attorney at the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, heading the organization’s work on HIV/AIDS in prisons. After starting as Media Director, she served as Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force from 1989 to 1992, and would go on to direct the Task Force’s Policy Institute and become a co-founder of the Creating Change conference.

“Like so many who came of age as queer people and AIDS activists in the early 1990’s, I was both awed and deeply inspired by Urvashi’s profound eloquence, her fierceness and passion, her capacity to lead, and by her warm and beautiful heart,” said Fenway Health CEO Ellen LaPointe. “She consistently centered the interwoven intersectionalities that are inherent in our fight for equality. She was relentless, and she urged us not to compromise. And she helped us understand that we all have a role to play in our shared struggle. While the full impact of Urvashi’s leadership and example is beyond measure, we know that the best way to honor her legacy is to double down in our efforts to continue the fight. I am grateful and honored to have known her.”

Vaid was a tireless advocate for HIV policy reform and health care justice, and did not hesitate to shake up systems of power. During a 1990 press conference on AIDS by former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Vaid famously held up a sign reading “Talk Is Cheap, AIDS Funding is Not.” Her powerful statement brought attention