Leonard West, 1942-1996
Co-Founder of We The People

Remembering them, fiercely


Narciso Abreu
Narciso was one of our first active Spanish-speaking members, and helped pull together our first retreat for people with HIV in recovery in 1992.
Umar Abdullah
Terrence Adolph
Rozelle Albert
Ike Allen
Randy Allen
David Alexander
Drew Aller
Drew was an early advocate for hospice and nursing care for people with AIDS in Philadelphia -- and one of the first people admitted to the AIDS Nursing Unit at the Philadelphia Nursing Home.
Jose Alvarez
Jose started fighting against HIV in the Puerto Rican/Latino community back in 1986 as a volunteer, and eventually became Director of Programa Esfuerzo, the first Latino community organization dedicated to AIDS care and prevention.
John M. Ambrose
Fotios Anastapolous
John Anderson
John was a member of Philadelphia City Council from 1979 to 1984, and was instrumental to the passage of Philadelphia's civil rights bill for sexual minority people.
Thomas Angeloff
John Anzengruber
John was a businessman who left his job to dedicate his full energies to advocating for people with HIV/AIDS.  He was among the first members of the city's "Resource Allocations Committee," which guaranteed objectivity and honesty in the allocation of public funds for AIDS services.
James Appenzeller
Kevin Arruda
Cornell Atkins
Cornell was one of the first African American members of We The People, and led a massive demonstration in Philadelphia City Council in 1989 to prevent cutbacks in city AIDS funding.
Billy Atwell
James Bacon
Joseph Bader
Carlton Bailey
Carlton led many recovery groups for people with HIV at We The People, and routinely sought to raise the consciousness of the recovery community about AIDS in the late 1980s.
Joan Bailey
Lewis Gene Bailey
Charles Baker
Vorris Bamberg
Vorris' efforts, and personal experiences, led to a more sensitive response to people with HIV and mental illness in the Philadelphia area.
Herman Barkley
Matthew Barlow
Alexander Barnes
Robert Barnum
Dominic Bash
Dominic was the City of Brotherly Love's most famous Diva, a leader of Dignity/Philadelphia (the gay Catholic group), a trailblazing gay rights advocate in the Church and elsewhere, and among our earliest board members and leaders.  He started our community meals program, our "medicine cabinet," and many other programs and initiatives at We The People.
Joseph Beam
Joe was a nationally-known author and poet, publicly stepping out for black gay men long before it could make you money.
Michael Bazinet
Michael was an early board member of We The People.
Jeff Bearss
Lee Bechtel
Charles Beisel
Charles' experience of discrimination and ignorance in the city's mental health system led to major reforms.
Robbie Beck
A waiter at the "Hasty Tasty Deli," one of Philly's gay landmarks of the 1980's, Robbie was always ready with a smile and a joke to help you through the day.
David Belgrave
Tony Bellwoar
Andy Berry
Dennis Bethea
Dennis was one of Philadelphia's premiere advocates for housing for low-income people, becoming executive director of the Tenants Action Group and the Tenants Rental Assistance Corporation only eighteen months before his death.  Under his leadership, AIDS rental assistance programs increased by 500% in only one year in 1993.  He also served on WTP's Board of Directors.
Tehuti Bey
Tehuti was a premiere activist on behalf of alternative and complementary therapies among people living with HIV/AIDS in the Philadelphia area.  He also served on our Board of Directors.
Joseph Beun
Harold Black
Harold was one of the first African American AIDS activists in Philadelphia, speaking up as early as 1985.  He also helped to found Unity, Inc., the first African American gay organization dedicated to fighting AIDS in that community, and was an active volunteer at the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force and We The People..
John Bladen
Mark Blair
Mark was an accomplished community organizer and activist, and served as President of the Washington Square West Civic Association.  He worked as an organization consultant to numerous community groups throughout the city.
Michael Boston
Lisa Botzum
Lisa was among We The People's first women, and helped to start our WomanPower support group.
Henry Dana Bowie
Frank Broderick
Frank was a tirely gay activist, and served for over ten years as editor of one of the city's two gay newspapers, Au Courant, which he helped start in 1983.
Richard Bromley
Anthony Brooks
Gloria Brooks
Gregory Brown
Joyce Brown
Juanell Brown
Lance Brown
Sam Brown
K. Whitney Brown
Whitney was a proud leader of Philadelphia's transgendered community.
Dorothy Browne
Ronald Bruennig
Benjamin Bryant
John Bryant
Mark Budniok
Joe Buffalo
Joe was an active volunteer at We The People, helping us develop programs to assist homeless people and addicts living with HIV/AIDS.
Kenny Bullock
Kenny was one of the first to break the "color barrier" in Philadelphia AIDS services, fighting against discrimination in AIDS housing programs as early as 1985.
Thomas Buntin
Michael Burke
Grady Burton
Christopher Burns
Thomas Buntin
Alexander Bullock
Jay Burgos
Stephen Burroughs
Kim Butler
Gary Byrne
Gary was an active member of the Episcopal Church, despite having been denied ordination years ago because of his sexual preference.  He was an avid fan of classical music and opera, and an accomplished performer in his own right.
John Caldwell
Tony Canter
Darryl Canty
Darryl was one of the earliest volunteers for BEBASHI (Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues), staffing the organization as far back as 1985.
Brian Carneal
Roland Carney
Dawayne Carroll
Roosevelt Carson
Steve Cartagena
Alan Leroy Carter
Hal Carter
Hal, a former Program Director at We The People, was known for his teaching on complementary and alternative approaches to HIV care.
Paul Carter
Emerson Casey
Ralph Cassasanto
Robert Castrovillo
Augusta G. Caton
Henry Cheeks
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David Chickadel
Perhaps more than anyone else, David Chickadel can be called the founder of We The People.  In 1987, along with his close friends Bill Randall and Terry Dillon, David announced at a Philadelphia City Council hearing on AIDS that in the year of the bicentential celebration of the U.S. Constitution, he wanted everyone to remember that We, People with AIDS, were citizens too.  He created the name, We The People (originally, WTP was 'We The People/People with AIDS/ARC Coalition of Philadelphia), and was our strong leader up to his death only a year later.
In addition to his work in creating We The People, David also was one of the first Philadelphians to recognize the potential of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, ACT UP.  Along with Bill Randall, David Fair and other AIDS activists, he put together the very first ACT UP demonstration in Philadelphia.  Shortly before his death, he worked with state and local officials to design the Pennsylvania Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program, the state AIDS drug assistance program that provides free access to medication for PWAs without insurance.
David's personality and single-minded commitment to the rights of people living with HIV disease set a tone for We The People that we still struggle mightily to hold on today.


Robert Clark
Terrence Clark
Alan Clausen
Bill Cole
Bill was a leading AIDS activist from South Jersey, always standing for honesty and integrity and a total committment to what was best for PWAs.
Robert Coleman
Tyrone Collier
Al Collins
Albert Conn
Norman Cook
Steven Cook
Barry Cooper
Craig Cooper
Randall Copeland
Bruce Corbitt
Rex Cotrell
Allen Cousins
Tom Covel
David S. Coward
Wayne J. Coyle
Richard Coyne
Bill Craig
Bill was one of those people who'd to anything for you, whatever the personal price.  His memory is maintained through the William J. Craig Memorial Foundation, a Philadelpia AIDS case management agency.
Michael Crenshaw
Michael worked as a supervisor at Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives, Philadelphia's first AIDS service organization, and for many years was the only person of color in the leadership of the city's AIDS system.
Thomas Crilley
Bob Curran
Edward Currid
Steven Dabrowski
Bill Damon
Natasha Daniels
Patrick Daniels
Stephen D'Aruto
Gary Dasziewicz
John Louis Davila
Cortez Davis
Frances Davis
Fred Davis
Fred was an early AIDS activist, speaking up for people of color in the highly-politicized early days of the epidemic.
Kevin Davis
Michael Davis
Milton Davis
Theresa Davis
Walter Davis
Derek Days
Bill Dean
As an employee of the city's AIDS and substance abuse treatment programs, Bill helped hundreds of PWAs find drug treatment and housing.
John Dempkowski
James Dennis
Rhonda Dennis
Rhonda was a strong advocate for women with HIV/AIDS, and served on We The People's Board of Directors.
Luis Diaz
Ronald Diegel
Louis Dijinio
Terry Dillon
Terry was among the three people who founded We The People in 1987.
Robert Dinyon
Joseph Doan
Kirk Dobson
Kirk was a member of We The People's Board of Directors and a co-founder of our longest-running support group, for HIV+ people in recovery, called "Triple Trouble."
Maurice Donnell
James Dougherty
Carol Douglas
Alton Dozier
Robert Dudek
Adam Durrant
Vince Duskis
Gerald R. Dwight
Carl Dykes
Carl and his wife were mainstays at We The People's Life Center for over six years.
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