Gail Johnson is the foster mother of Nkosi Johnson, who died of AIDS in 2001 at the age of 12. Nkosi first came into the limelight in 1997 Gail Johnson, challenged a school in Melville, Johannesburg, for refusing to enrol him because of his HIV status. His courage as a HIV-positive youngster gave him the reputation as an “Aids icon” after he spoke out at several gatherings ”” including the United Nations conference on Aids ”” about his life and the government’s unwillingness to do something about the epidemic.
Biography record
Gail Johnson

- Updated
- 20 Jul 2020

South African History Online. (2011, February 17). Gail Johnson. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ve/ref/B-0008207
South African History Online (2011) 'Gail Johnson', South African History Online, 17 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ve/ref/B-0008207 (Accessed: 26 July 2026).
South African History Online, Gail Johnson [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ve/ref/B-0008207, (accessed 26 July 2026).
"Gail Johnson." South African History Online, 17 Feb. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ve/ref/B-0008207. Accessed 26 July 2026.
South African History Online. "Gail Johnson." South African History Online. February 17, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ve/ref/B-0008207.
Further reading
History of Women’s Struggle in South Africa
Recollections of the Resurrection of Women’s Day, 40 Years Ago by Julie Wells
Zuleikha Mayat
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