ACT UP Activists at the National Institutes of Health
Author: Spencer Law
Interviewer: Haley McAllister
On the heels of the sexual revolution, an unknown virus swept through the gay community in major cities across the United States. By 1989, more than 40,000 people had died from this virus, now known as HIV/AIDS, and President Reagan left office without ever addressing the issue. Despite the urgency of the epidemic, drug research and development stalled in the FDA’s laboratories. People with AIDS knew they were running out of time. Gay men on the verge of losing everything– their jobs, lifestyles, and even their lives– joined with thousand of others to form activist organizations. The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) notably led the charge to end AIDS through demonstrations, protests, and policy development. While there remains no cure for the virus, the persistence of AIDS activists brought an end to the plague of a generation.