International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) formed in New York City in 1987, challenging the ineffective response to the HIV-AIDS crisis. Beyond the physical disease, the group fought against stereotypes of the disease founded on sexuality, race, and the counterculture. On its 20th anniversary, in March 2007, Larry Kramer, playwright and founder of ACT UP, declared the organization “the greatest grassroots group in history.” “No matter how you look at it, you're being pushed!” gay activist Vito Russo told 700 demonstrators as the bathhouse closures were taking hold in New York City. “And I don't want you to jump out of the windows. I want you to push back.” The night was November 14, 1985. New York State Governor Mario Cuomo had just signed legislation prohibiting “high risk” behaviors in commercial establishments such as baths and tearooms. ACT UP was formed under the rubric “Silence = Death” – condemning the vacuum of opposition to the societal condemnation of those with HIV/AIDS. The appellation Silence = Death asserts that passivity to discrimination against gay people and people of color intensified the AIDS crisis. ACT UP members saw the public passivity as eroding the progress of the gay liberation movement of the 1970s. Thus, at its inception, ACT UP successfully linked the message of the need to seriously address the AIDS crisis to the fierce anti-homophobic agenda first ... log in or subscribe to read full text