Rand Schrader (May 11, 1945 – June 13, 1993) was an American

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and

gay rights activist A list of notable LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT org ...

who also served as a judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Early life and education

Schrader was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

.Obituaries: Rand Schrader, Judge And Gay Advocate, 48
''

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'' (June 15, 1993). He graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and then from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1973.Tracy Wilkinson
Municipal Court Judge Faces Challenge of AIDS - Disease
, ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'' (November 25, 1991).

Professional career and judicial service

After graduating from law school, Schrader was hired by

Los Angeles City Attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the City of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor offenses only. The City Attorney is elected for four years, and the City Charter requires ...

Burt Pines. He was the first openly gay staffer to work in the Los Angeles City Attorney's office. In 1980, Schrader was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

. Schrader was recommended to Brown by gay rights activist Sheldon Andelson. Schrader served on the bench until April 1993.

AIDS-related advocacy and death

Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman appointed Schrader to the Los Angeles County AIDS Commission when it was established in 1987. Schrader served as chairman of the commission from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, Schrader announced that he had been recently diagnosed with

. He disclosed that he had tested positive for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

in 1989 and had developed

pneumocystis pneumonia ''Pneumocystis'' pneumonia (PCP), also known as ''Pneumocystis jirovecii'' pneumonia (PJP), is a form of pneumonia that is caused by the yeast-like fungus '' Pneumocystis jirovecii''. ''Pneumocystis'' specimens are commonly found in the lungs o ...

in October 1991. Schrader went public with his diagnosis in an attempt increase AIDS awareness and to combat discrimination and misinformation associated with AIDS. Schrader died from AIDS-related complications on June 13, 1993, in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Los Angeles, Cent ...

. Shortly before his death, in May 1993, the 5P21 HIV/AIDS clinic at Los Angeles County – USC Medical Center was named in honor of him.Los Angeles Clinic Named for AIDS Activist Rand Schrader
''

'' (May 15, 1993). Schrader had previously advocated for the establishment of the clinic.

Personal

Schrader's long-time partner was entrepreneur

David Bohnett David C. Bohnett (born April 2, 1956) is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social ...

, who after Schrader's death used his own entire life savings and the $386,000 benefits from Schrader's

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to create the pioneering website

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.Michael Kearns
Out on the Web
, ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' (November 24, 1999). At the time of Schrader's death, they had been partnered for 10 years.

References

External links