YEAR: 1987ACT UP Protest at Wall St
In the late 1980s, the AIDS epidemic had already impacted hundreds of thousands of people globally, and the LGBTQ community in NYC was one of the hardest hit. As the government (intentionally) dragged its feet and refused to take the steps necessary to push for further research on treatments and make such treatments accessible, people began to organize. The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) was formed in March 1987 in order to raise awareness about the AIDS crisis and bring people into political action as they faced government apathy to a devastating crisis. “Silence = Death,” became the group’s motto, adopted from an activist art collective poster.
The group’s main target was the pharmaceutical industry, which they accused of profiteering from the AIDS crisis and making the lifesaving HIV/AIDS drugs inaccessible. ACT UP also accused the industry of not doing research to find a cure or better treatments for AIDS. On March 24, 1987, the group carried out its first protest at Wall St. Hundreds of protesters laid down in the street, disrupting rush hour traffic in the heart of global capitalism, and calling for government action, specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help end the AIDS crisis. They also targeted the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome, the manufacturer of the expensive AZT drug.
