https://socialistaction.org/2018/10/24/act-ups-struggle-against-power/
ACT UP’s struggle against power
/ 2 days ago
Oct. 2018 AIDSBy ANN MONTAGUE
The AIDS Holocaust took place from 1985-1995, and it saw the loss of
many gay men who had spearheaded Stonewall and launched the gay
liberation movement. But many continued with a new fight. Remembering
that history will remind us of a time when gay men, together with
lesbians and straight supporters, organized and led a militant struggle
against some of the most powerful institutions of this nation.
In the early 1980s, young healthy gay men were dying and no one knew the
cause of the epidemic. There was no treatment and certainly no cure. And
no one cared. The government remained silent. It became the disease that
dared not say its name—though sometimes labeled “the gay disease” in the
media. The gay community was left to care for its own.
There was a community-based non-profit in New York City called Gay Men’s
Health Crisis. But it proved to be ineffectual, and in 1987, the group’s
founder, Larry Kramer, resigned from the board of directors. By that
time, some 10,000 gay men in New York City had been diagnosed with AIDS,
and half of them had died. Kramer said, “We have sat back and let
ourselves be knocked off man by man without fighting back. … This is
more than denial; it is a death wish.”
Soon after that speech, “Silence=Death” signs appeared on walls and
scaffolding all over Lower Manhattan. In a couple of weeks at the first
meeting 300 people met to form ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power).
Larry Kramer described the structure of the new group as “democratic to
a fault.” Greg Bordowitz, an early member, said, “This is how
grassroots, democratic politics works. You convince people of the
validity of your ideas. You have to go out there and convince people.”
There were committees and a coordinating committee that brought ideas to
the floor. But any motion could be brought to a vote at any time.
It was to be in-your-face activism. Facing deaths in the thousands and a
criminally indifferent government policy, they turned their anger, fear,
and grief into action. They were fighting an enemy that seemed
unbeatable, and they made activism a vital part of the gay movement.
The organizing focus was on the health insurance industry,
pharmaceutical companies, Wall Street, National Institutes Of Health
(NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Catholic Church.
Their demands started with a greater access to experimental AIDS drugs
and a coordinated national policy to fight AIDS. The main slogans were:
Fight Back—Fight AIDS! Silence=Death! Drugs Into Bodies!
The first action of the newly formed organization took place on March
24, 1987, and it was at the center of financial power—Wall Street. There
were 250 protesters, and 17 were arrested. To prepare the press for this
action, a day earlier Larry Kramer had an opinion piece printed in The
New York Times, entitled, “The FDA’s Callous Response To AIDS.” He wrote
that “the release of [the drug] AZT is just a sop to the gay community.”
On March 24 one year later, there was another march, and more than 100
gay men were arrested.
Closing down the FDA
The next major action involved mixing in with crowds of people who were
filing their tax returns. This was the beginning of ACT UP joining with
the Silence=Death Project. It introduced what became the iconic symbol—a
pink triangle on a black background.
The most successful action of the first two years was shutting down the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Rockville, Md., on Oct. 11, 1988.
ACT UP joined other groups of gay men and lesbians and their supporters
from around the country in building what was one of the largest U.S.
demonstrations since the war in Vietnam. Many gay men had been active in
that fight, and the slogan of the day echoed those mass demonstrations:
“Hey, Hey, FDA. How many people have you killed today?”
Protesters blocked doors and walkways, and pasted posters on the walls
of the building, chanting, “We’ll never be silent again!” The roads that
workers took to get to work were blocked, and police turned them around
and sent them home. The activists raised a banner, “Federal Death
Administration.” Police officers wearing surgical gloves and helmets
rounded up hundreds of protesters and put them in buses. But others
blocked the buses for half an hour. This was all on the national news.
Demands included shortening the drug approval process, eliminating
placebo drug trials, and compelling Medicaid and private insurance
companies to pay for HIV-fighting drugs. This was the beginning of the
national awareness of ACT UP and AIDS activism. They got their attention
with the actions and then started the education component.
ACT UP members showed the press and the FDA that they had knowledge of
every detail of the complex FDA approval process. Also, they prepared a
well-organized campaign that showed the media how to communicate the
treatment issues to the public. Before the siege of the FDA, they had
prepared an FDA Action Handbook and conducted teach-ins for ACT UP
activists so they would be prepared when they went on television and
radio across the nation after their action at the FDA.
Afterwards, an ACT UP spokesperson talked of the success: “The success
of the Seize Control Of The FDA can be best measured by what ensued in
the year following the action. Government agencies dealing with AIDS,
particularly the FDA and the NIH, began to listen to us in decision
making, even to ask our input.”
On Sept.14, 1989, there were two separate actions by ACT UP activists
who were protesting the high price of the only approved drug at the
time, AZT. Seven activists invaded the New York Stock Exchange and
chained themselves to the VIP balcony. They had dropped fake $100 bills
onto the trading floor disrupting the opening bell for the first time in
its history. They unfurled a banner directed at the stockbrokers, “Sell
Wellcome.” This referred to the pharmaceutical sponsor of AZT, Burroughs
Wellcome. The price had been set at $10,000 per patient per year for the
drug.
There was also a noon rally of over 400 people outside the Stock
Exchange. The protesters attacked companies who were profiteering from
the AIDS epidemic and set off hundreds of fog horns, which echoed
through the narrow streets of lower Manhattan. Several days later
Burroughs Wellcome lowered the price of AZT to $6400.
Stop the Church
In New York City, Cardinal John Joseph O’Connor of the Roman Catholic
Diocese took a public stand against safe sex education in the city’s
public schools, railing against condom distribution and against
homosexuality—as well as opposing abortion. This led to the Stop the
Church protest on Dec. 10, 1989, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Over 5000
protesters were organized by ACT UP and Wham! (Women’s Health Action and
Mobilization).
The protesters rallied outside the cathedral as mass was being
celebrated inside. About 20 protesters broke away and went inside and
interrupted the service, chanting slogans and lying down in the aisles.
The demonstration was condemned by Mayor Koch and Governor Cuomo.
Some activists questioned the tactic of entering the church. In
retrospect, ACT UP activists said, “The St. Patrick’s protest was
seminal and changed the way many saw the Catholic Church. It was no
longer untouchable.”
Jim Hubbard, an ACT UP member and maker of the documentary “United In
Anger,” said, “I wasn’t clear about going inside the church, at the
time. But now I think that the shock of going inside and confronting the
Cardinal really worked. It brought ACT UP to national attention. It
brought the crisis to a point where the government and the mainstream
media really had to start dealing with it.”
Day Of Desperation
On Jan. 22,1991, during “Operation Desert Storm,O gay men entered the
studio of CBS Evening News at the beginning of the broadcast. They
shouted, “AIDS Is News, Fight AIDS Not Arabs.” The same night ACT UP
also protested at the studios of the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour. The next
day, banners at Grand Central Station Terminal said, “Money For AIDS,
Not For War” and “One AIDS Death Every 8 Minutes.”
ACT UP chapters were built around the country and internationally. The
large San Francisco chapter was particularly active in building mass
protests, “die-ins,” and marches. A demonstration was called outside the
International AIDS Conference in San Francisco on June 22, 1990.
Many women took part in the action, which aimed to draw attention to the
fact that AIDS was not just a men’s disease; women were also affected.
However, since the disease often manifested itself differently among
women, the symptoms were not always recognized as coming from AIDS,
which caused women to be denied the Social Security benefits that men
had won. The protesters also highlighted the AIDS epidemic among people
of color and intravenous drug users—issues that they felt had not been
sufficiently addressed.
This movement revolutionized everything, from the way drugs are
researched to the way doctors interact with patients. They catalyzed
development of drugs that since 1996 have helped patients live a near
normal lifespan. They redrew the blueprint for activism in a new media
world. They were relentless in their struggle.
The gay men and lesbians in ACT UP had confidence that a militant
movement of struggle was the way change would happen because they had
seen it in the last 20 years. Many of them had spearheaded the Stonewall
Uprising. Before that they had joined millions in the streets building
an antiwar movement that became massive.
A large number of gays and lesbians who were at the Stonewall Inn
Uprising were homeless youth who kept the protests going for five more
nights. Eventually, the uprising morphed into stable organizations like
the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. This was the
background of struggle that created ACT UP.
Mass struggle cannot arise out of academic theory with no background of
solidarity or militancy. An LGBTQ movement stuck in neoliberal thought
will have to find a way out of the bubble. Solidarity does not result
from merely learning to accept our diversity, but from the political
recognition that our futures are tied together.
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
24Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)24
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
October 24, 2018 in Health care, LGBT rights, Sports.
Related posts
Stormé DeLarverie: The lesbian spark in the Stonewall Uprising
FILM REVIEW: Before Night Falls
Youth in Action
Post navigation
← Ireland will offer free abortions
Get Involved!
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month October 2018 (8) September 2018 (8)
August 2018 (12) July 2018 (13) June 2018 (11) May 2018 (19) April
2018 (15) March 2018 (17) February 2018 (14) January 2018 (13)
December 2017 (13) November 2017 (13) October 2017 (16) September
2017 (15) August 2017 (16) July 2017 (17) June 2017 (16) May 2017
(17) April 2017 (14) March 2017 (13) February 2017 (19) January 2017
(13) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (19) October 2016 (12)
September 2016 (10) August 2016 (10) July 2016 (14) June 2016 (14)
May 2016 (9) April 2016 (12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8)
January 2016 (11) December 2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015
(8) September 2015 (10) August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9)
May 2015 (10) April 2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11)
January 2015 (10) December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014
(9) September 2014 (6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014
(10) May 2014 (11) April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11)
January 2014 (11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013
(17) September 2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013
(15) May 2013 (14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013
(10) January 2013 (17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October
2012 (19) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June
2012 (3) May 2012 (19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February
2012 (19) January 2012 (17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33)
October 2011 (14) September 2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011
(24) June 2011 (19) May 2011 (19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15)
February 2011 (15) January 2011 (15) December 2010 (17) November
2010 (1) October 2010 (6) September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July
2010 (7) June 2010 (2) May 2010 (9) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8)
February 2010 (3) January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009
(5) October 2009 (16) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (2) July 2009
(5) June 2009 (2) May 2009 (7) April 2009 (6) March 2009 (16)
February 2009 (9) January 2009 (10) December 2008 (11) November 2008
(8) October 2008 (16) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008
(12) June 2008 (3) May 2008 (2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14)
February 2008 (11) January 2008 (11) December 2007 (8) November 2007
(1) July 2007 (1) June 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1)
February 2007 (3) December 2006 (11) November 2006 (11) October 2006
(13) September 2006 (15) August 2006 (11) July 2006 (18) June 2006
(7) May 2006 (14) April 2006 (6) March 2006 (14) February 2006 (5)
January 2006 (2) December 2005 (9) November 2005 (8) October 2005
(13) September 2005 (12) August 2005 (9) July 2005 (16) June 2005
(16) May 2005 (16) April 2005 (12) March 2005 (14) February 2005
(19) January 2005 (15) December 2004 (14) November 2002 (17) October
2002 (19) September 2002 (22) August 2002 (21) July 2002 (15) May
2002 (21) April 2002 (21) February 2002 (15) January 2002 (15)
December 2001 (17) October 2001 (24) September 2001 (18) July 2001
(19) June 2001 (18) October 2000 (17) September 2000 (21) August
2000 (19) July 2000 (16) June 2000 (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000
(22) March 2000 (28) February 2000 (18) January 2000 (20) December
1999 (20) November 1999 (26) October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18)
August 1999 (40) July 1999 (38) June 1999 (24) May 1999 (27) April
1999 (25) March 1999 (26) February 1999 (29) January 1999 (24) July
1998 (12)
Search
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook
View SocialistActUS’s profile on Twitter
View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
No upcoming events
Category Cloud
Actions & Protest Africa Anti-War Arts & Culture Black Liberation Canada
Caribbean Civil Liberties Cuba East Asia Economy Education & Schools
Elections Environment Europe Immigration Indigenous Rights International
Labor Latin America Latino Civil Liberties Marxist Theory & History
Middle East Police & FBI Prisons South Asia Trump / U.S. Government
Uncategorized Vote Socialist Action Women's Liberation
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
Follow
--
_________________________________________________________________
Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in
telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after
death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst
out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement,
and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how
wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous
something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
― Isaac Asimov
