ABSTRACT
Contemporary community AIDS organizations face several daunting challenges. One is the difficulty of inter-community and inter-ethnic cooperation. A second issue is staying connected to one’s community base, while a third challenge is meeting the consequences of multiple cutbacks in social spending at the same time that the epidemic is spreading. Racism, disinterest in the poor, and contempt for gay men have created an atmosphere in which most Americans are willing to passively accept the idea that tens of thousands of people in racially or sexually stigmatized groups will die from a completely preventable disease. Communities vary in degree and type of organization, and community organizing must reflect these differences in order to successfully include women. Many groups have attempted to change daily life in community settings by organizing the members of the community so that they can have greater control over the basic institutions that determine their lives.
