AIDS-era nostalgia gripped popular culture recently with several acclaimed documentaries (including Oscar-nominated How to Survive a Plague) and the Tony-winning revival of Larry Kramer’s play “A Normal Heart” (soon to be an HBO movie with Julia Roberts). But a new generation was also rediscovering the disruptive tactics of ACT-UP. That highly effective, emotionally inspiring AIDS activist organization turned 25 last year, and ACT-UP SF (www.facebook.com/ACTUPSF) relaunched with a new agenda: combating queer homelessness and evictions, the criminalization of HIV and sex work, transphobia and discrimination, and astronomical HIV drug prices. Through direct actions and colorful street protests, ACT-UP SF renewed the intergenerational spirit of queer community.
ACT-UP SF photos by Waiyde Palmer and Liz Highleyman, courtesy ACT-UP SF.