Jason Robertson (August 28, 1980 – September 4, 2003) was an AIDS activist. He became a symbol for the rights of children with AIDS at age 7, when he sued for, and won, the right to attend regular classes at his elementary school.

Biography

Robertson was diagnosed with AIDS, contracted through blood products used to treat his hemophilia, in 1986. After the diagnosis, he was initially tutored at home, then in isolation in a trailer on the grounds of Prather Elementary School in

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, ...

. He became lonely and asked to join regular classes. After the school refused, his family filed a lawsuit and a federal court ruled in his favor under the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 () is a United States federal law, codified at et seq. The principal sponsor of the bill was Rep. John Brademas (D-IN-3). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 replaces preexisting laws (collectively referred to as the V ...

. On his first day walking to school after the ruling, Robertson and his mother were surrounded by protesters chanting "back to the trailer"; a group of children from the school responded with chants supporting Jason. In July 1988, Robertson appeared, along with AIDS activist

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnos ...

, at a benefit concert by Elton John Robertson's family found that the environment in Granite City remained hostile—-on one occasion Robertson's mother was struck in the head by a man unhappy about him returning to school in the fall—-and the family decided to move. They relocated to

South Roxana, Illinois South Roxana, incorporated in March 1967, is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,891 at the 2020 census. Geography South Roxana is bordered to the north and east by the village of Roxana, to the south by a w ...

, where the school district agreed to treat Jason as a regular student, and (despite some limited protests) the community reception was more accepting."South Roxana"
'' St Louis Post-Dispatch'', October 27, 2006 . Robertson died in 2003 at age 23, some time after he had decided to stop taking his medication for HIV because it had begun to worsen his hemophilia. The ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

'' story about his death described him as "a symbol of the fight against AIDS discrimination" who "helped other children with the virus overcome its stigma"."Young fighter against school's AIDS segregation dies at 23"

in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', September 10, 2003.

References

External links

Jason Robertson Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Jason 1980 births 2003 deaths Recipients of contaminated haemophilia blood products AIDS-related deaths in Illinois People with haemophilia