AIDS EPIDEMICIn the late 1970’s the introduction of AIDS became known worldwide. There was unexplained maladies, and an epidemic in Western Africa. The incurable disease affected Haitians, Gay, and bisexual men, and intervenes drug users. There were at least 50 cases in the US in 1980. While tremendous medical advances have helped HIV-positive individuals live longer, healthier lives, there remains no cure and tens of thousands of new infections occur every year.
The AIDS epidemic was a massive, unexpected blow to the movement. But even AIDS had positive consequences, despite its many devastating consequences. Many of the early victims of the disease had been openly gay but only within the confines of 'insular gay ghettos' (like New York City’s Greenwich Village and San Francisco’s Castro). Many people who thought they did not know any gay people were confronted with friends, siblings, and loved ones who were dying of "the gay plague." Gay people were increasingly seen not only as victims of a disease, but as victims of hatred. The disease became a rallying point for a previously passive gay community. Gay people once again became political and fought not only for a medical response to the plague, but also for wider acceptance of homosexuality in America. As the gay male community was decimated by the AIDS epidemic, demands for compassion and medical funding led to renewed coalitions between men and women as well as angry street theatre by groups like AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and Queer Nation. Enormous marches on Washington drew as many as 1 million gay rights supporters in 1987 and again in 1993. The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Hundreds of thousands of activists take part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Ronald Reagan address the AIDS crisis. |