ACTing UP
Khyla Fobbs, and Malyssa Santos
Khyla Fobbs, and Malyssa Santos
SILENCE = DEATH
How Change Can Shine A Light
1992,inUSAabout 11thousand individualshadbeen diagnosedwithAIDS, withthelackof informationandwith numbersonlygrowing indeaths,atsome point.ThingsHADto change.
By1993,demandfor changehadcome, withthegovernment addressingand furtheropeningthe doorsforAIDS cases.
“toincludeallhuman immunodeficiencyvirus (HIV)-infectedpersons withsevere immunosuppression”This notonlyallowedthosewho werenotconsideredfor AIDSbeforetoget checkedagainbutitalso heldotherworrying findings.
What is ACT UP? ( and who started it? )
Thepersonbehindthisunionandone ofthefounder’swasLarryKramer,a individualwhohighlightedthe injusticegaymenfaced,startingout smallwritingarticlesinthepressabout awarenessofAIDSspreading,butsoon itwasn’tenoughforhim.Fueledby rage,Kramertookstepstowardbetter healthcareforall.
TheACTUPmovement (AIDSCoalitiontoUnleash Power)wasaprotestand actiongroup unitedinfury fromthelackofresponseand carefromthegovernment sincetheAIDScrisishad killedthousandsofpeople. MenandWomenwork togetherunited,bringinga messagethatanyonecanget AIDS.
“Ittookmetoolongbut,eventually,I learnedtolookthroughtheanger, resentmentandfear…Bythetimewe met,Kramerwasafullyarmedinstrument ofrage”(TheBenevolentRageOf
Special Events:
● March 10, 1987:
Gay activist playwright Larry Kramer called for the formation of anAIDS activist group in a speech at the Lesbian and Gay Community Center in Manhattan…how it all began
● October 11, 1988: ACTUPprotested the FDAfor its slow drug-approval policy which resulted in thousands dead from lack of access to life-saving drugs. Within a year, the process was greatly accelerated.
May 21, 1990: ACTUP/NYorganized a national action to “Storm the NIH” (National Institutes of Health) in Maryland. Over 1,0000 protesters demanded moreAIDS treatments,
January 23, 1991:
ACTUPstaged its “Day of Desperation” response to President George HW billion-dollars-a-day on the Gulf there was no money for much-needed AIDS programs.Activists disrupted News live broadcast on the night “FightAIDS, notArabs!”
Why was the ACT UP movement so impactful towards the LGBT+ youth?
Theimpactsthe movementACT UPheldtothisday takesrootinthe systemtoday, metaphoricalones andphysicalones.
Anothertruly inspirationalthingthe ACTUPmovement accomplishedwasthe waytheyusedthe systemtodemandand getchange.
Notonlydidthemovement bringforthacommunity, allowingfuturegenerationsto feelinspiredtodothesame,as wellfightingbackagainst oppression,duringatime whenhomophobiaran rampant,protestingeveninthe faceofhateconstantlythrown atthem.Theytookrisksand madesurethelightwasonthe issue.
“The government doesn't listen to use because we're smart. They listen to us because we’re smart and we can threaten them.”References
Alphabetize this list, inAPAformat, including hyperlinks if retrieved from internet:
● https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/000203 74.htm#:~:text=On%20January%201%2C%201993%2 C%20the,less%20than%20200%20CD4%2B%20T%2 D
● https://actupny.com/actions/
● https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/l essons/act-30-years
● https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/t-magazine/act-u p-members.html
● https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/09/6 89924838/how-to-demand-a-medical-breakthrough-les sons-from-the-aids-fight
● https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm502 1a2.htm
Link to “quick start”APAformat guide
Image links
Page 1 (both graphs)
● https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00020374.htm#:~: text=On%20January%201%2C%201993%2C%20the,less%20tha n%20200%20CD4%2B%20T%2D
Page 2:
● Link
● Link
Etc.
