Act Up Term Papers

I believe that I have gained a great deal of knowledge throughout this course regarding interesting historical movements and topics related to the LGBTQ+ community, which have been fascinating to me. We read several books over the past few months that painted a picture of what was going on at the time and told the stories of real people who lived through that time in history. During the United In Anger documentary, which summarized the history of the Act Up movement, I was first introduced to this movement. There has been a huge impact on history and activism as a result of this movement. There was finally some outcry against the government from the people, this fueled the fire during the movement. Overall, this course has not only expanded

The coalition utilized affinity groups so these people could practice non-violent tactics to reach their goals. The groups made their own decisions within Act Up and also helped contribute to the fight for what they believed in. Furthermore, these affinity groups served as a platform for individuals to innovate and experiment with different tactics and strategies to advance their cause. This diversity of approaches not only kept the group dynamic and adaptable, but also ensured that they were able to identify and leverage any opportunities that arose in their fight against HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. To be part of these groups you have to uphold certain standards of respect and rules. I read through an online article called Civil Disobedience Training, In this article, it is said “Affinity groups form the basic decision-making bodies of mass actions. As long as they remain within the nonviolence guidelines, affinity groups are generally encouraged to develop any form of participation they choose”.- Act Up

The iconic poster that they worked on featured a pink triangle on a black background with the words "Silence=Death" boldly proclaiming the urgency of speaking out and taking action in society. As a reference to how gay men and women were labeled/ accused in concentration camps during the Holocaust, the pink triangle represents how Nazis categorized them. There were often many comparisons of the AIDS epidemic to the holocaust, due to government separation and mistreatment. It was an outrageous statement made by an American conservative writer by the name of William F. Buckley that made this comparison worse. "Everyone detected with AIDS should be tattooed in the upper forearm, to protect common-needle users, and on the buttocks, to prevent the victimization of other homosexuals." During the Holocaust, Jews were forced to be tattooed with numbers on their left forearms to keep track of all those who had been imprisoned, whereas others received symbols that allowed them to identify themselves from