Abstract - Sameen Farooq

This paper examines the circumstances leading to the creation of ACT UP and analyzes the major contributions made by ACT UP New York to help those affected by AIDS. Over the course of the 1980s, AIDS became a prominent social, political, and human issue. With each passing year, the gay population suffered greatly at the hands of this modern-day plague. The community was in a state of disarray, with no one assuming leadership, and others outside the community, including the government and the scientific/medical community, were avoiding the issue or demonizing the victims.  In this climate, gays and lesbians began mobilizing against the disease by creating organizations such as the Gay Men's Health Crisis, an ad hoc volunteer organization. These groups, however, could not fully meet the needs of the community or bring about the social, political, and ideological changes necessary for the struggle against AIDS.  By 1987, nothing substantial had been done by the government in terms of public health policy changes, or by the scientific community in terms of access to medicine or alternative ways of dealing with the disease. That year, to combat this complacency on the part of the government and indifference on the part of the medical and scientific community, and to unify the fragmented gay community, an organization called ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) was created in New York City, under the leadership of Larry Kramer. Immediately, it attracted a large diverse following, and for the first few years of its existence it actively challenged the social, political, economical, and societal transmutations of AIDS. From its inception and later establishment in cities across the U.S. and the world, its various actions were reminiscent of the radicalism of the post-Stonewall era. This paper focuses specifically on ACT UP New York and how it markedly changed the perception of the role of government, politics and society in dealing with the AIDS crisis.  From its birth in 1987 until 1993, ACT UP used grass-roots mobilization to attract a vibrant and impassioned following. An analysis of ACT UP over these defining years of its existence aids in understanding the socio-political ramifications of AIDS as a disease but also as a cultural, economic and religious issue in American society. At its height, ACT UP’s protests, demonstrations, media-savvy tactics and radical approach allowed it to attract thousands of individuals who felt disenfranchised. Examining the rise of the organization also highlights how ACT UP went through internal changes, losing its radicalism through infighting among members, a decline in volunteer participation, and the formation of splinter groups, all of which destroyed the momentum of the organization. This progression from the radical fringe to the mainstream is representative not only of how the organization evolved but also of the status of AIDS in American society.

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