ACT UP

While ACT UP proclaimed itself to be “united in anger,” the coalition was nonetheless guided by a spirit of generosity – one that used rebellion to uplift and unify a despairing community, mobilizing their collective power to fight for their own lives and for the freedom of future generations. 

ACT UP was by no means the first grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. In the early-mid-1980s, especially in urban gay communities where the disease was most prevalent, myriad mutual aid initiatives emerged to spread awareness about the disease, promote prevention through condom distribution and clean needle exchange, care for the sick and mourn the dead. Still, for the most part AIDS activism remained contained within affected communities. Aside from some lobbying efforts, it posed little challenge to the status quo.

ACT UP broke through this state of inertia, inciting its members to turn fear, grief and rage into nonviolent direct action. Galvanized by the incendiary rhetoric of gay playwright and activist Larry Kramer (1935-2020), the coalition held its first meeting on March 10, 1987. Twelve days later, members staged their first demonstration on Wall Street to protest pharmaceutical price-gouging over the antiretroviral drug AZT. 

In the years that followed, ACT UP grew rapidly, spawning dozens of chapters with thousands of members across the U.S. and internationally. With a defiant, often outrageous street activism that was strategically designed to capture headlines, the coalition exposed and condemned the bigotry, bureaucratic red tape, corporate greed, media sensationalism and government complacency that were obstructing the path to life-saving AIDS treatment for all. 

Armed with foghorns, smoke bombs and buckets of fake blood, ACT UP members disrupted traffic, political events, medical conferences, the New York Stock Exchange and a Catholic mass. They enacted mass “die-ins” and “kiss-ins”; stormed U.S. health agencies, including the FDA, CDC and NIH; unfurled a giant condom over the home of a homophobic U.S. senator; and dumped the ashes of dead loved ones on the White House lawn.

From the late-1980s until the mid-1990s, ACT UP’s relentless campaign of public pressure significantly accelerated the process of transforming HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a livable condition. At the same time, internally, the coalition created a place of refuge, belonging, hope and purpose for people affected by AIDS at a time when society was turning its back on them. 

Although its numbers have diminished, ACT UP remains active today, pursuing a broad mission to eradicate AIDS at the global level while providing a sense of collective strength for millions living with the disease.

Contributor: Erin Brown