aids deaths skyrocket. by 1991, the number of people infected with hiv reaches 1 million. and there s still no effective drug treatment in sight. almost in step with the way the epidemic was exploding, the turnout to act up exploded. first it was a few dozen people planning, and then a thousand people or more showing up at a meeting. in january, 1991, around the 10-year anniversary of the epidemic, actup mounts a major coordinated protest, hoping to attract maximum media coverage. they call it day of desperation. we ve gotten some progress in some things, but we still thought the media was ignoring it. we were just feeling desperate. day of desperation actually begins the night before with a daring stunt that will be seen by millions. as the media focus on the beginning of the gulf war, actup, using fake i.d. badges, tries to sneak into a number of
people were being fire from their job, evicted from their apartment, denied health insurance. everything. city government was also absent. ed cotch s administration was not talking about aids publicly. actup is born in 1987, emerging from the powerlessness that many affected by the disease are feeling. actup s original photo was also its formula. anger into action. our grief, after a while, became anger. we took that anger and frustration and we focused it. a key part of actup s strategy is to use the media to spread its message. actup was very, very savvy. we had people like ann northrop who used to be diane sawyer s producer at cbs. we had bob ravsky who did pr for corporate america. from day one they told us how to talk to the media and how to get our message out. if the press didn t get a film camera there or didn t get a print photographer there, we started taking our own pictures and doing our own video then saying we ve got great footage of that demo, do you want it?
city government was also absent. ed cotch s administration was not talking about aids publicly. actup is born in 1987, emerging from the powerlessness that many affected by the disease are feeling. actup s original photo was also its formula. anger into action. our grief, after a while, became anger. we took that anger and frustration and we focused it. a key part of actup s strategy is to use the media to spread its message. actup was very, very savvy. we had people like ann northrop who used to be diane sawyer s producer at cbs. we had bob ravsky who did pr for corporate america. from day one they told us how to talk to the media and how to get our message out. if the press didn t get a film camera there or didn t get a print photographer there, we started taking our own pictures and doing our own video then saying we ve got great footage of that demo, do you want it? the situation worsens with each passing year. aids deaths skyrocket.
talking about aids publicly. actup is born in 1987, emerging from the powerlessness that many affected by the disease are feeling. actup s original motto was also its formula. anger into action. our grief, after a while, became anger. we took that anger and frustration and we focused it. a key part of actup s strategy is to use the media to spread its message. actup was very, very savvy. we had people like ann northrop who used to be diane sawyer s producer at cbs. we had bob ravsky who did pr for corporate america. from day one they told us how to talk to the media and how to get our message out. if the press didn t get a film camera there or didn t get a print photographer there, we started taking our own pictures and doing our own video then saying we ve got great footage of that demo, do you want it? the situation worsens with each passing year. aids deaths skyrocket.
the situation worsens with each passing year. aids deaths skyrocket. by 1991, the number of people infected with hiv reaches 1 million. and there s still no effective drug treatment in sight. almost in step with the way the epidemic was exploding, the turnout to act up exploded. first it was a few dozen people planning, and then a thousand people or more showing up at a meeting. in january, 1991, around the 10-year anniversary of the epidemic, actup mounts a major coordinated protest, hoping to attract maximum media coverage. they call it day of desperation. we ve gotten some progress in some things, but we still thought the media was ignoring it. we were just feeling desperate. day of desperation actually begins the night before with a daring stunt that will be seen by millions. as the media focus on the beginning of the gulf war,