On July 3, 1981, the headline "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals" appeared in the New York Times. It came about a month after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report noted five cases of pneumocystis pneumonia among previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles.It was the beginning of the AIDS crisis — though it wasn't called that at the time — a pandemic that would decimate the LGBTQ community.
The disease first became known to the gay male communities of New York City, San Francisco, and LA, but quickly spread to other communities, including hemophiliacs, women, and transgender people.