NYC Information
In March of 1987, ACT UP formed in New York City by a group of people as a diverse, nonpartisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS Crisis.
We meet with government and health officials; we research and distribute the latest medical information. We protest and demonstrate; we are not silent.
We challenge anyone who, by their actions or inaction, hinders the fight against AIDS.
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Earn your ATTITUDE! Our General Meetings are |
from the New Membership introduction >>>
One of the reasons ACT UP was founded was because health officials, government researchers, medical bureaucrats, doctors and pharmaceutical company executives were believed to be "AIDS experts" and held all the power over people living with AIDS. Here in the affected communities, our points-of-view were made invisible and our real-world knowledge about the changes that needed to be made to end the crisis, was ignored. Living with AIDS, as we all are in New York City, one of the epicenters of the AIDS pandemic in this country, we are the experts!
Further, because of the immensity of the task of ending the AIDS crisis, ACT UP felt there was a need to make every member a leader, rather than having a few members holding the power. That is why there is no president or Board of Directors in ACT UP.
It is no wonder then that ACT UP is run as openly and democratically as it is. ACT UP has no paid staff; everyone is a volunteer. The membership in attendance every week at Monday Night meetings, the floor, has the final say on all of the organizations business. Because of this, the meetings can run very long and become heated and emotional. They can also be tedious and frustrating. It can be extremely confusing and overwhelming for new members and even old members.
Just remember that we run things this way because we care about what you have to say. While we ask members to wait until their third meeting before voting, you have as much right to speak and to be heard as anyone else in the room. We are all in this together.
Here's a look at how meetings work
How to Find Out who we are, what we do, and why we do it...
Come to our meetings and demos.
BECOME EDUCATED. BECOME AN AIDS ACTIVIST!
NEW YORK CITY - June 27, 2003 - The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Assistant Commissioner of HIV Services, Marjorie Hill, Ph.D., said, "In New York City, more than 100,000 people are infected with HIV, but as many as one in four don't know it. It is estimated that two-thirds of all new HIV infections are spread by people who don't know they are HIV positive.
In the most recent surveillance report issued by the DOHMH earlier this year, it was reported that over 76,000 people were determined to be living with HIV and AIDS; approximately 25,000 people were estimated to be living with HIV but have not yet been diagnosed. The report (pdf) is available online at http://nyc.gov/html/doh/pdf/dires/qtr1-2003.pdf .
Nationally and locally, communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic. Recent studies also show that HIV disproportionately affects young men of color who have sex with men, as well as injection drug users and anyone who has engaged in unprotected sexual activity with multiple partners.
NEW YORK CITY - 2004 REPORT
AIDS, syphilis rates on the rise in New York: mayor’s report
AIDS, tuberculosis and syphilis in the city increased during the past fiscal year, according to a mayoral report released last week. According to the biannual Mayor’s Management Report, among the areas that lagged were those that fell under the auspices of the Department of Health, which saw increases in several areas that had been declining for years. For instance, AIDS increased by 960 cases to 5,124 and the tuberculosis rate went to 1,140 from 1,084 in the previous fiscal year. Syphilis cases also rose for the fourth consecutive year: In fiscal year 2000, there were just 131 cases citywide; in fiscal 2004, which ran from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004, the number was 599. The health department said most of the increase occurred among gay and bisexual men engaging in unsafe sexual practices and it has launched education campaigns and free screenings for sexually transmitted diseases.
Look through and download the information about ACT UP from our documents section. More references can be found in literature about ACT UP listed under research.
The New York Public Library Archives Division holds an extensive ACT UP Collection and is accessable to the public for public viewing and research [contact and access information].__Another source of comprehensive information about ACT UP can be found at the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn. To visit the Archives by appointment or to find out hours, call: (718) 768-DYKE (3953) Fax: (718) 768-4663. [For specific information on the ACT UP collection at the Herstory Archives, you can contact Maxine Wolfe via her Voice Mail at 212-946-2180.]DIVA TV and AIDS Activist Videos are also archived at the New York Public Library. > LISTING
ACT UP 75-minute Video Documentary
Fight Back, Fight AIDS: 15 Years of ACT UP
ACT UP/New York
332 Bleecker St. Suite G5
New York, NY 10014voicemail: (212) 966-4873
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