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AIDS ACTIVISM IN LOS ANGELES THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ACT UP/LA
When the AIDS epidemic hit the Gay community in the 1980s, politicians ignored it.The insurance industry held its wallet shut. Public health systems acted clueless. It took people in the streets, putting a visible face on a virus, to bring about a response to death. It was in this context that ACT UP/LA (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) was born. From 1987-1997, members took on, and had many successes, bringing the powers that be in line with the needs of the local Gay community and others who were living with HIV/AIDS. A book by Benita Roth, “The Life and Death of ACT UP/LA,” now shares in great detail the experiences of those years. Ms. Roth is both an activist who lived the struggle and a scholar. She combines thorough research with the human side of the fight against AIDS—a fight undertaken while much of the ACT UP membership was dying. The book is much more than a history lesson. In our new age of bigotry, there are lessons to be learned from how AIDS activists grappled with whether to remain single-issue or reach to take on other LGBTQ and health issues, and from how the group’s Women’s Caucus brought the ignored effects of the virus on women to the forefront. It is the story of encounter among people who hadn’t worked together before—white gym boys meet PC lesbians meet the old left meet people of color. It was never easy, and sometimes it was beautiful. Most importantly, the issue remains relevant today. An estimated 61,000 people in Los Angeles County are living with AIDS or HIV as of 2016, and close to 2,000 new cases were diagnosed last year. Many of those who developed AIDS were not aware that they were HIV positive. “The Life and Death of ACT UP/LA” is published by Cambridge University Press. It is available at Book Show LA in Highland Park and through Amazon.
LA ART NEWS