A self-described “jack-of-all-trades and master of nothing,” Donald Minor will be speaking to students about the life and long-term living with HIV on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. in the Culp Center Auditorium.
Minor’s talk is in conjunction with World AIDS Day, which is on Dec. 1. There will also be a free HIV testing on Thursday, Dec. 5, in Meeting Room 4A of the Culp Center.
Born on Dec. 21, 1948, Minor was diagnosed with hemophilia, which is a genetically inherited blood-clotting disorder. There was little treatment available at the time.
His mother was unable to provide for him, so he went from one foster home to another. Finally he was placed in a home where his foster mother was a registered nurse and was capable of caring for him.
Minor stayed there for 10 years until his foster father died, and he was then placed in various other foster homes.
He was finally placed in the Methodist Children’s Home in Selma, Ala., where he lived until he graduated high school.
While in school that Minor, began cultivating and using his love for music.
He was part of a band that won contests and even had small recording offers.
“Music has always been my escape,” he said.
Minor worked as a member of various bands, playing mostly folk music and had some songs land on the charts.
He has worked with Jimi Hendrix, the Beach Boys and Simon and Garfunkel. He toured the same circuit as Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones.
Minor then began focusing on gospel music.
“The church has always been a place where I’ve seemed to have peace,” he said.
Minor found out he was infected with HIV in 1985 because the medication he was taking for hemophilia was contaminated with the virus.
He discovered he was HIV-positive less than six weeks after his marriage to his second wife, Judy. She has been with him through it all.
“She seemed to be what I needed,” he said.
“If it hadn’t been for Judy, I don’t know if I would have made it,” he said.
Minor has been diagnosed with eight different illnesses including Hepatitis C, HIV, diabetes and several more. He is considered a walking miracle by many.
Doctors have informed him that he has had six months to live, two weeks to live and a couple of years to live on more than one occasion.
He is the last living person in Johnson City with hemophilia and HIV.
He is also the last living person that is public about his diagnosis.
The importance of teaching students to avoid HIV and how to deal with people who have it is one of Minor’s strongest messages.
“Donald Minor is not important, he said. “The message is important.”
Students who are sexually active need to get tested once. If you are in high-risk situations such as alcohol or drug abuse, Minor said that people in these situations should take the test again in six months, because they might be positive.
“There’s not a terrorist on this planet that compares to HIV,” Minor said.
Minor also has a new CD out. Healing — From Donald Minor to You is a collection of songs that he has performed with the AIDS quilt and one he dedicates to all the caretakers of those with HIV/AIDS.
He said that those are the heroes.
He first sang when the AIDS quilt was at ETSU.
The CD will be available in the lobby after the program. CDs are $14 and cassettes are $8. Proceeds will go toward sending Minor to places that cannot afford to bring to pay him to lecture.
“I haven’t done anything that grand or remarkable with my life other than being who I am,” he said.
For more information or to order one of Minor’s CDs, check out his web site www.minorcare.com, which is still under construction. Or you can e-mail him at dminor@tricon.net.
The Dec. 4 event is sponsored by ETSU’s departments of health sciences and public health, Alpha Phi Omega and Lambda Chi Alpha.

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