INDIANAPOLIS -- The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is working on an exhibit that will display hundreds of letters that were sent to Ryan White before he died from complications of HIV and they’re hoping that some of the people who wrote him those letters will come forward to help them put context behind their words.
The museum said White’s collection of nearly 6,000 letters offers significant cultural information related to the AIDS epidemic from the perspective of children.
His mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, will also be at the museum to share her experiences and the challenges her family faced during the last few years of White’s life. She will speak on March 31, April 1 and April 2.
The Kokomo boy died in 1990, but his memory and legacy live on through his family, the Power of Children exhibit at The Children’s Museum and through the never-before-released letters that will go on display later this year.
White contracted HIV through contaminated blood treatment for hemophilia when he was just 13 years old. He became the poster child for HIV education and awareness.
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In 1985, White was a student at Western Middle School, but parents and other kids opposed him being enrolled there because of his illness.
White went on to champion HIV awareness and taught people in Indiana and the rest of the world more about the virus while dispelling myths about how it was contracted.
More than 1,500 people attended White’s funeral at Cicero Cemetery, including Elton John.
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Elton John also wrote an open letter to a national newspaper two decades after White’s death that said, “I would gladly give my fame and fortune if only I could have one more conversation with you, the friend who changed my life as well as the lives of millions living with HIV.” He went on to say, “I was by your side when you died at Riley Hospital. You’ve been with me every day since.”
The museum is seeking feedback from anyone who sent White a postcard, letter or photo in the 1980s. If this is you, email connect@childrensmuseum.org and include your name, contact information and anything you remember about what you sent to Ryan.
The museum says the letters will be redacted before they are made public unless the writers give their consent.
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