TITLE: In memory of Antonio Cornelius Baker.

SUMMARY: In memory of Antonio Cornelius Baker.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Antonio Cornelius Baker, a longtime champion of people with HIV and AIDS, passed away in Washington, D.C., on November 8, 2024, at the age of 63; and WHEREAS, Born in Sodus, New York, on September 30, 1961, Cornelius Baker graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology's Eisenhower College; he joined the George H. W. Bush administration in 1989 and worked in the White House Presidential Personnel Office before becoming an assistant in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services national AIDS program; in that role, he was instrumental in securing HHS funding for cities and minority communities most affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis; he set an example for other gay Black men as an early volunteer in the National Institutes of Health's AIDS vaccine trials; later, as executive director of the National Association of People with AIDS, he helped reduce stigma through the establishment of National HIV Testing Day; in 1999, he was named executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic; and WHEREAS, Over the years, Mr. Baker served on the boards of many groups committed to addressing HIV/AIDS and held key advisory and policy positions with a number of nonprofit and governmental organizations, including the NIH Office of AIDS Research; as a cofounder and policy advisor of the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, he worked with the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on research funding for the care of gay Black men with HIV and AIDS; he loved the theater and served for three decades as a trustee of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; a man of deep faith and boundless compassion, he made time to visit and call the sick, comfort the suffering, and assist those in need of food and shelter; his myriad accolades included the Award of Courage from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and a James Baldwin Legacy Award from the National Black Justice Coalition; and WHEREAS, Through his vision and tireless leadership, Cornelius Baker made the world a better place, and those he left behind will continue to find inspiration in his kind, joyful nature and fierce advocacy for the most vulnerable; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Antonio Cornelius Baker and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Cornelius Baker. Jones of Dallas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 190 was adopted by a rising vote of the House on February 6, 2025. Chief Clerk of the House