Springfield, Ohio, has become a household name thanks to false rhetoric from both former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
Much of that rhetoric targets Haitian immigrants. In a September 13 post on X, Vance falsely tweeted that “communicable diseases — like TB and HIV – have been on the rise” in Springfield since the Haitians’ arrival.
Communicable diseases are not on the rise, Chris Cook, the health commissioner of Clark County, told NBC News on Sept. 13. In fact, all communicable diseases except COVID in Clark County are at their lowest rate since 2016.
LGBTQ+ organization Equality Springfield condemned Vance’s HIV claims in a written statement shared in conjunction with a press release from GLAAD on that national organization’s website:
“Equality Springfield unequivocally denounces the dangerous and baseless claims that our Haitian population has led to ‘skyrocketing’ cases of HIV in Springfield. We are steadfast in our commitment to end the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and call on all media outlets to promote facts and debunk falsehoods.”
Kyle Scott, vice president of Equality Springfield, said during the organization’s annual Pride in late June, he began seeing hateful behavior. Protests “felt like they came out of nowhere,” Scott told The Buckeye Flame. Caustic messages have increased on Equality Springfield’s Facebook page. And after Pride, local law enforcement received hate mail.
“We have been throwing Pride for the last six or seven years and never had any type of pushback,” he said.
Springfield has been a welcoming community for LGBTQ+ people, Scott said. Five years ago, he moved to Springfield after living in Columbus for much of his life. His friends were nervous, as Columbus was seen as a “queer haven,” but Scott was surprised by how accepting Springfield was.
“I found the community to be relatively open and accepting,” Scott said. “It still is. It’s just now those outside influences are making things a little trickier.”
This year’s Pride festivities earned $22,000 in sponsorship money, and much of it was from local businesses, he said. Equality Springfield also participates in Equitas Health’s annual AIDS Walk Ohio and raises in the top 10% to 15% of about 50 fundraising teams.
When Springfield became the target of unwanted and undeserved attention from Trump and Vance, Scott asked GLAAD for help. In a confluence of timing, GLAAD had just the day before released 5th Annual State of HIV Stigma Report—the only report of its kind to track Americans’ knowledge, attitudes, and sentiments about HIV and HIV stigma.
“Media must immediately challenge irresponsible rhetoric about HIV and elevate accurate information: HIV is preventable, treatable to the point of undetectable and therefore untransmittable (U=U), and people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement.
Scott is “cautiously optimistic” the current fervor will all blow over by next year and not affect the queer community.
“It’s a pretty tight-knit community,” he said. He is concerned, however, that the rhetoric “might be a deterrent for queer people wanting to come here and move here.”
“For us who are here, I don’t think it’ll be a deterrent or change anything because we all realize a lot of this is outside noise. Hopefully it’ll dissipate soon.” 🔥
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