Collective Action and World AIDS Day

“Health is a reflection of societies commitment to equality and justice”-People’s Health Movement, 2000 

            There is nothing more compelling than losing a love one to a disease perceived as a moral justification to sin. It was with the stigma and the loss of a very close friend that moved me into the realization of what social injustice was. Up until that point, I had never been affected by anything so compelling to feel a need to step out of my comfort zone and shake my fist at the status quo.

            John David was like an uncle to my small children. Every Sunday he would have friends over for a pool party, but always included myself and four little ones. I always felt it was their “saving grace” being taken in by such gracious hospitality and showing them a world outside the struggle I experienced as a single mother. John David would lift my little four year old daughter up on a stool to stir whatever pot needed stirring so that “Look everyone at the yummy dinner Ashley made!”

            One Sunday when he took me to the side after my announcement of how fabulous he looked due to his recent weight loss, told me exactly why he was so thin. He had been diagnosed with AIDS. With no real information out at that time how AIDS was transmitted, I feared for my children. That was the last time they went to Uncle John David’s house on a Sunday. John David. passed away a few months later.

            Information on the transmission of HIV/AIDS soon assimilated that HIV was not transmitted by casual contact and that’s when the overwhelming anger and guilt set in. How could I have been so ignorant? I vowed then to myself and the memory of John David I was going to educated people until I saw an end to the AIDS epidemic.

            My story probably isn’t any different than activists from the beginning of time. Those who are personally affected or traumatized combined with social environment usually are people who will find themselves “answering the calling”.  I found myself as one of five people of the newly formed ACTUP Shreveport.

            AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people living with AIDS, (PWAs) and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and lives.  ACT UP was organized as a leaderless and effectively anarchist network. This was intentional on the founder of the group, Larry Kramer's part - he describes it as "democratic to a fault.” We used a simple formula for recruitment, "To a certain extent, this is how democratic politics is supposed to work in general. You convince people of the validity of your ideas. You have to go out there and convince people" (ACT-UP 20, 2007).

ACT-UP Shreveport was considered one of the leading local branches of the national network. Quoting from the National Institute of Health’s history of HIV/AIDS website that features ACT-UP Shreveport, “The original ACT-UP group from New York inspired numerous other branches nationwide. As well as campaigning in their own states, local groups from across the country attended major rallies” (NIH.com). Hundreds of people locally responded to the call. Along with one sympathetic local physician, we were able to bring forth the first HIV/AIDS resource center and clinic in north Louisiana. It was an amazing accomplishment for those initial six people, two of which were diagnosed with AIDS, and three people who loved them dearly, and the very compassionate doctor, Marcus Spurlock.

            Over thirty three million men, women, and children are thought to be living with HIV. Even today discrimination, stigma, ignorance and the lack of effective preventive measures through state funding is what still puts people at risk. We just can’t afford the medical expense or the loss of life after twenty five years. Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths. Enough is enough.