Editing Leonard Bernstein (section)

=== Advocacy for AIDS research and patient care ===
In the 1980s, Bernstein was frustrated that the [[Reagan Administration]] took so long to acknowledge the existence of the [[AIDS epidemic]], let alone provide resources for research and patient care.{{sfn|Seldes|2009|page=158}} Bernstein was galvanized to provide advocacy however he could. In a written statement for a June 1983 benefit for AIDS advocacy in Houston, Bernstein wrote: "AIDS is {{em|not}}, repeat {{em|not}}, the Gay Plague it is so often made out to be; it is part of the human condition, and must be universally researched and annihilated."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Image 1 of [statement for an AIDS benefit], 1983 June |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/music.musbernstein-100020187/?sp=1&st=image |access-date=January 16, 2024 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

On April 30, 1983, at [[Madison Square Garden]] in New York City, Bernstein participated in one of the earliest HIV / AIDS fundraisers, which raised over $250,000 for the [[Gay Men's Health Crisis]] (GMHC). Bernstein conducted the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]] Orchestra with mezzo-soprano [[Shirley Verrett]] in "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Ross|first=Alex|author-link=Alex Ross (music critic)|date=May 30, 2019 |title=Revisiting a Symphonic AIDS Memorial |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/revisiting-a-symphonic-aids-memorial |access-date=January 16, 2024|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>

On November 8, 1987, Bernstein participated in another event to benefit the Gay Men's Health Crisis. The concert at [[Carnegie Hall]], "Music for Life", was dedicated to Dr. [[Mathilde Krim]] and her work at the [[American Foundation for AIDS Research]] (amFAR).<ref>{{Cite web |title=AIDS Awareness & Funding for Research|url=https://leonardbernstein.com/about/humanitarian/aids-awareness-and-funding-for-research |access-date=February 14, 2024 |website=leonardbernstein.com}}</ref> Bernstein was joined by [[Leontyne Price]], [[Marilyn Horne]], [[Luciano Pavarotti]], and [[Yo-Yo Ma]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Performance-History-Search?q=&dex=prod_PHS_Newest_First&page=7&event=24070&start=562741200&end=567925200|access-date=January 16, 2024|title=Music for Life – Benefit Concert for Gay Men's Health Crisis|type=performance details|publisher=[[Carnegie Hall]]}}</ref>

On November 15, 1989, Bernstein refused the [[National Medal of Arts]] from President [[George H. W. Bush]] in protest against the revoked [[National Endowment for the Arts]] grant for a New York exhibit of AIDS-related art.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 1, 2024 |title=Bernstein Rejects Medal in Arts Controversy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/11/16/bernstein-rejects-medal-in-arts-controversy/8049c57a-7f0e-4adf-a036-3c429e36752b/ |access-date=February 14, 2024|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>