It was in this political and social climate that Larry Kramer, long-time outspoken gay rights and AIDS advocate, called for the creation of a new and radical group to “act up” against the government and societal stigma. The group is most known for using outlandishly performative, darkly funny, and deeply emotional tactics to garner maximum media coverage. From “die-ins”, “ashes actions”, giant inflatable condoms, and memorial quilts to a pink, upside down, triangle–the inverted image of the Nazi symbol for homosexuals–for a logo, ACT UP was incredibly effective at achieving that goal. In a time defined by loss, ACT UP activists channeled their grief into political action that was unapologetically embedded with the aesthetics of queer culture.[1]

ACT UP first made national headlines on March 24th, 1987 when over 250 protesters shut down morning rush hour traffic on Wall Street. The protest was filled with signs that read “Seize Control of the FDA / Wall Street” as their goal was to challenge the incredibly slow FDA drug approval process and the exorbitantly high price of AZT, the first effective drug to treat AIDS. This large scale demonstration was the first major example of “die ins” which involved individuals laying down in the street pretending to be dead in order to evoke emotion through media coverage. These activities made the obvious emotional appeal that AIDS related deaths could no longer be ignored. By the end of the day, 17 protesters were arrested and ACT UP proved their ability to draw national media attention.[2]

The next major example of ACT UP’s heartbreaking theatrics occurred on October 11th, 1987 in Washington, DC. Six hundred thousand individuals, from all over the county, gathered on the Washington Mall to protest the government’s negligible response to the AIDS crisis. On the morning of the protest, activists unveiled a giant AIDS quilt which included “thousands of rectangular three-foot-by-six-foot handmade panels, each in memory of a person who’d died of AIDS.” This march put the pain of the gay community on center stage, for all Americans to see. [3]

            In December of 1989 ACT UP “zapped” – a term frequently used during the time to describe a highly targeted and confrontational action against specific individuals and institutions – Cardinal O’Connor at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The Cardinal actively argued against the use of condoms, sexual education, and the gay community in general. He instead argued that abstinence was the only acceptable way to prevent AIDS. On December 10th of 1989, activists infiltrated the Sunday service dressed as normal church-goers. During the service, 50 individuals laid down on the ground and staged a die-in while others began to admonish, inside and outside the church, the institution and O’Connor himself. The church erupted with chants of "Cardinal O’Condom” and “O’Connor, you’re killing us! Murderer! We will fight O’Connor’s bigotry!”. The scene quickly became chaotic and caused widespread media uproar. In total, including those that protested outside the church, 4,500 demonstrators were present. [4]Once police arrived, 111 protesters were arrested.[5]

            The next notable zapping victim was Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institute of Health, NIH, which leads the nation's medical research efforts. Unlike many government medical officials, ACT UP had an expert team that focused on gathering all available information on AIDS testing, drugs, and treatments. While thousands were actively dying of AIDS, NIH drug testing was expected to take up to 10 years and individuals who were lucky enough to be selected to be a part of the trials only had a 50% chance of receiving the active agent, and life saving, drug. On May 21st, 1990 about 1000 protesters gathered outside, and successfully shutdown, the NIH campus in Maryland. Signs read “Fauci, you’re killing us!”. Instead of ignoring the protesters, Fauci told police he wanted to meet with the leaders of the ACT UP Treatment and Data Committee. This meeting would actually revolutionize how NIH testing and policy decisions were made.[6]

            The best example of ACT UP’s shockingly funny tactics came on September 5th, 1991. On that day, the Conservative North Carolina Senator, Jesse Helms, was zapped at his home outside of DC. Helms claimed that AIDS was a disease spread through immorality and routinely blocked AIDS funding. ACT UP leaders retaliated by placing a giant, inflatable, thirty-five-foot condom on the Senator’s house. National media outlets were already in place to witness the perfectly rehearsed inflation of the giant condom. Signs read “A Condom to Stop Unsafe Politics: Helms Is Deadlier Than a Virus” and a protester told reporters that “We’re saying if you mess with us, you’re going to wake up one morning to find a condom on your roof.”[7]

            While ACT UP’s tactics have been commonly perceived as controversial, radical, or in poor taste, they were incredibly effective at drawing attention to the grief and agony the gay community was experiencing. Not only were they successful at getting national attention, they also greatly influenced medical advances, policy wins, and wide scale progress for the gay community. Central to these success stories were their targeted and strategic use of theatrics, humor, and gut-wrenching spectacles. 

Map Sources: The data for these maps and charts were collected from various LGBTQ+ periodicals indexed in Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory 1979-2000 (New York: R.R. Bowker, 2000) as well as a few major newspapers accessed through Newsbank digital newspaper database. This is not a complete record of AIDS protests in North America, but rather a snapshot of major protests notable enough at the time to be recorded by newspapers.

Research and data compilation: Wren Cavanaugh; supplemental research: Ari Bleu Conboy