"Act up" pin
Activists directed much of their rage at the Reagan administration; the president remained largely silent about the epidemic until 1987 when he declared AIDS “public health enemy number one.” The SILENCE=DEATH emblem, adopted that same year by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), was a call to change tactics, since neither silence nor community self-reliance had stopped the deaths. The pink triangle was a symbol of the gay rights movement.
"AIDS - plague from God"
<p>Most states still outlawed same-gender sex in the 1980s. Many Americans, deeply offended by homosexuality, objected to any acceptance of it. Some of them considered it a sin, and believed AIDS was a suitable punishment.</p>
<p><em>Donna Binder, photographer</em></p>
"AIDS AIDS AIDS????" pamphlet, Gay Men's Health Crisis, 1982
Initially ignored by mainstream America, gay people in every major city created a parallel system of volunteer-run service organizations to supply care, information, and referrals to those with AIDS.
"Fight AIDS not people with AIDS" pin
Activists directed much of their rage at the Reagan administration; the president remained largely silent about the epidemic until 1987 when he declared AIDS “public health enemy number one.” The SILENCE=DEATH emblem, adopted that same year by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), was a call to change tactics, since neither silence nor community self-reliance had stopped the deaths. The pink triangle was a symbol of the gay rights movement.
"Questions and Answers" pamphlet, Philadelphia Task Force, 1982
Initially ignored by mainstream America, gay people in every major city created a parallel system of volunteer-run service organizations to supply care, information, and referrals to those with AIDS.
"SILENCE = DEATH" poster
Activists directed much of their rage at the Reagan administration; the president remained largely silent about the epidemic until 1987 when he declared AIDS “public health enemy number one.” The SILENCE=DEATH emblem, adopted that same year by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), was a call to change tactics, since neither silence nor community self-reliance had stopped the deaths. The pink triangle was a symbol of the gay rights movement.
“Quilt Weekend,” <em>The Washington Blade</em> insert, October 11, 1996
<p>The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an ever-growing symbol of the toll of AIDS. The Quilt consists of thousands of handmade fabric panels made by family or friends of the deceased which memorialize persons who have died of AIDS. <strong></strong></p>
<p>Displayed in Washington, DC in October 1987 for the first time, the quilt had been conceived by Cleve Jones in San Francisco, “. . . what led to the Quilt is that I felt we were failing to reach the vast, overwhelming majority of Americans who do not live on the Coasts and do not know gay people.” By 1996, the AIDS Memorial Quilt had grown to the size of twenty-nine football fields, 45,000 panels. </p>
<p>A panel from the Quilt is on display in the museum’s first floor artifact gallery.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The underlying question that the epidemic has raised has never been answered, and that is: is a gay life worth saving?”</p>
<p><strong>Interview with Eugene M. Harrington, Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law, 1995<br /></strong><em>John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008</em></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>“It doesn’t make any difference to me if it was age-specific, straight or gay, or elderly people—all you have to do is to see a couple of cases of this disease to realize the suffering is absolutely unbelievable; the guillotine is a much nicer way to die than to go through HIV.”</p>
<p><strong>Interview with Dr. Don Francis, retired, United States Public Health Service, 1995<br /></strong><em>John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008</em></p>
<p><strong> </strong><strong> </strong></p>
<p>“We had a little munchkin from LA, Joey, a street hustler. . . . He had lymphoma of the brain. . . . I called the father and told him that if he wanted to see Joey again, he’d have to come to Houston fairly quickly. He said he had no intention of coming to Houston. I said if it was a matter of money, we could raise the money to fly him out here. He said it isn’t the money; I just don’t want to see him. I said, well, okay, what would you like to do with the body? He informed me that we could put the little son-of-a-bitch in a Hefty trash bag and leave him out by the curb.”<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Interview with John Paul Barnich, lawyer, 1995<br /></strong><em>John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008</em></p>
John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1995-1999
<em>RFD Magazine</em>, Summer 1987
<p>As the epidemic wore on, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) press devoted significant space to AIDS prevention, health, and end of life issues. The subject of being HIV positive while not having full-blown AIDS also became a topic for writers. <em>RFD Magazine</em> was one of the many LGBT publications that regularly ran HIV and AIDS related articles.</p>
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection
<p><em>Chicago Tribune TV Week</em>, November 10-16, 1985</p>
<p>In the television film <em>An Early Frost</em>, Michael Pierson (Aidan Quinn) is a young gay man with AIDS. Forced to be open about his homosexuality and the disease, he must also face the inevitability of his death. At a time when AIDS was seen as a certain death sentence, <em>An Early Frost</em> presented the tragedy of the epidemic to a wide audience. Media writer Kenneth R. Clark noted, “NBC . . . is the first to explore AIDS with a full-length movie, and a lot of people are nervous about it.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We have to have in us the will to be the one to survive, to be the old, old man who will tell the world what happened. Because eventually the world will change. The one who survives out of the plague, out of the holocaust, out of whatever, to be the one to tell the world . . . .”</p>
<p><strong>Interview with Cornelius Baker, National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), 1995<br /></strong><em>John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008</em></p>
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection
<p><strong><em>1 World Manga, Passage 2</em></strong><strong>, 2006; </strong><strong><em>Teen Life: Frequently Asked Questions About AIDS and HIV</em></strong><strong>, 2008; </strong><strong><em>Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You</em></strong><strong>, 1992</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Many methods have been used to distribute information about HIV and AIDS.</p>
<p>In <em>1 World Manga</em>, a comic book for young adults, a man meets a woman whose parents died of AIDS. He learns the reality of relationships in a world coping with AIDS. The book includes facts about HIV and AIDS, including sections on HIV and AIDS in developing countries, “The Impact of AIDS,” and “What Can I Do?”</p>
<p>In <em>Teen Life</em>, the answers to frequently asked questions provide teenagers with a broader knowledge of HIV and AIDS and its prevention.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In <em>Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You</em>,<strong> </strong>Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall educate teenagers and young adults about HIV and AIDS.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A young person recently told me this epidemic had no meaning for him until a friend of his was infected. I think that points out that it’s not real for them until it’s personal, until their friends/lovers get it—then they get involved, question [their] own status/own habits. . . . a lot of times people don’t pay attention (until it gets personal) . . . .”</p>
<p><strong>Interview with Joe Fera, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 1995<br /></strong><em>John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008</em></p>
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection