pzaia
Unleashing Power
In the early 90s, ACT-UP San Francisco hosted a series of street protests leading up to and beyond the World Conference on AIDS. While scientists gathered to present papers and discuss molecular biology, activists from all over the world gathered to deliver a well-orchestrated media event intended to communicate critical issues to the entire world and thereby save lives.
At the time, ACT-UP was able to pull together a crowd and add numbers to its message. ACT-UP’s media savvy can be seen in the signs and street theatrics designed for the 6:00 news. Also newsworthy were the vast numbers willing to put their lives on the line and be arrested for the cause motivated by the epidemic that was taking their lives.
ACT-UP's members were on top of treatment issues, women’s issues, politics, and prevention. Many worked directly with government workers and scientists to set policy and serve as a voice of advocacy for people with AIDS.
By putting their message in front of the cameras, ACT-UP was able to disseminate critical talking points to the media gathered to cover the event. These messages included: Women Die Faster, Your Budgets our Lives, the SF AIDS Model is Crumbling, and of course Silence = Death.
Some of these faces have long since passed, others were saved by protease inhibitors, still others went on to work to directly fight the indifference and fear that allowed AIDS to propagate so effectively and undisturbed by the agencies of public health designed to prevent disease.
Unleashing Power
In the early 90s, ACT-UP San Francisco hosted a series of street protests leading up to and beyond the World Conference on AIDS. While scientists gathered to present papers and discuss molecular biology, activists from all over the world gathered to deliver a well-orchestrated media event intended to communicate critical issues to the entire world and thereby save lives.
At the time, ACT-UP was able to pull together a crowd and add numbers to its message. ACT-UP’s media savvy can be seen in the signs and street theatrics designed for the 6:00 news. Also newsworthy were the vast numbers willing to put their lives on the line and be arrested for the cause motivated by the epidemic that was taking their lives.
ACT-UP's members were on top of treatment issues, women’s issues, politics, and prevention. Many worked directly with government workers and scientists to set policy and serve as a voice of advocacy for people with AIDS.
By putting their message in front of the cameras, ACT-UP was able to disseminate critical talking points to the media gathered to cover the event. These messages included: Women Die Faster, Your Budgets our Lives, the SF AIDS Model is Crumbling, and of course Silence = Death.
Some of these faces have long since passed, others were saved by protease inhibitors, still others went on to work to directly fight the indifference and fear that allowed AIDS to propagate so effectively and undisturbed by the agencies of public health designed to prevent disease.