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AIDS Activism

 

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ACT UP Milwaukee

ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) formed in New York in March 1987, following a speech by activist Larry Kramer calling for civil rights style demonstrations to protest the lack of government activity on AIDS. ACT UP Milwaukee's organizing meeting took place on August 18-19, 1989, when it hosted ACT UP New York and prepared for its first action. On August 25, the group demonstrated in front of the Federal Building to protest the federal and state governments' inadequate response to the AIDS epidemic.

Though the Milwaukee chapter is now defunct, ACT UP remains active nationally, lobbying congress, and as recently as this year, holding demonstrations. The group remains committed to keeping the AIDS crisis in the public eye and holding the government accountable for funding research to find a cure.

ACT UP and communication:

Protest and demonstration communicate visually, as a show of force and through news coverage of events.

Creating and dissemenating information to the public communicates the specifics of ACT UP's message of AIDS awareness.

How else does ACT UP use communication to bring understanding to the AIDS crisis?

In the Archives: The richest sources of information in the collection are the chapter's meeting agendas and minutes, 1990-1994; newsletters, 1992-1996; and newspaper clippings, 1990-1995.  A folder of ephemera includes safe sex brochures targeted at teens, flyers for demonstrations, business cards, and other handouts. 
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Click on the icon above to see a clip an interview with Tim Grair of ACT-UP Milwaukee who is staging a "Die-In" to protest a controversial doctor who appeared on 60 minutes. The clip was aired in November 1989 on Tri-Cable Tonight.

Milwaukee Gay/Lesbian Cable Network

The Milwaukee Gay/Lesbian Cable Network (MGLCN) was a volunteer group that produced regular and special programming on gay and lesbian issues for Milwaukee's public access cable channel.

Tri-Cable Tonight was a monthly, thirty-minute news and entertainment program. It aired from late October 1987 through December 1989 and consisted of twenty-six episodes. The program combined in-studio news presentations, interviews, and discussions with on-location coverage of community events.

The Milwaukee Gay/Lesbian Cable Network and communication:

Creating a cable network gives voice to a population that may not have had such an outlet before, and also reaches a new audience with this voice.

In the Archives: The channel featured many guests who spoke on topics related to AIDS, including an interview with ACT UP Milwaukee member Tim Grair. It also produced a two-part program on the AIDS Quilt. There are 37 videotapes in the collection that cover a variety of gay and lesbian related topics, all available for viewing in the Archives.

 

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URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/nhd2005/htm/aidsactivism.htm
Last edited on Tuesday, September 21, 2004.
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