Act Up Movement Essay

The first person to fall victim to the deadly HIV/AIDS disease happened two years after the first diagnosed case. In the early 1980s, the general public was unaware of this parasitic killer until young men in New York City began to get sick and die. Multiple events, some involving brutality, caused people to take notice and take action by increasing awareness of AIDS. . The ACT UP movement rose raise awareness that AIDS and HIV were not what people made it out to be. This powerful movement began in New York City and spread quickly to other major cities, such as San Francisco and Chicago. The ACT UP movement swept the Chicagoland area and made a major impact on the lives of those affected.(Gordon, Darrell)

AIDS/HIV: Early History

Many people mistakenly believe that AIDS and HIV began in the 1980s; however, its origin goes back to 1959. It is believed that a man from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the first true patient zero. A blood analysis done on the man showed the first markers of the HIV virus. He has become known as the first true example of what is now AIDS. Although this individual is the first official

Before Mr.Kramer founded ACT UP he and a couple comparados co-founded Gay men’s health Crisis (Wikipedia). Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHS) was the one of the world's largest organization that helped people living with AIDS. Larry Kramer didn't like the approach that GMHC took. He wanted a more aggressive approach. To show his frustration he wrote a play that was produced at the public theater in New York. After that he left GMHC and founded ACT UP. ACT UP, which stands for AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and lives