ACT UP

While ARCW pursued its advocacy mission with public officials at all levels of government, others took the fight against AIDS to the streets. In 1987, activists in New York formed the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, known better as ACT UP. It rallied people to become activists in the fight against AIDS. Using bold images and confrontational tactics, ACT UP raised awareness of HIV/AIDS, demanded more and affordable treatment options, resisted the stigmatization of those infected with HIV, and promoted safer sex. Eventually, ACT UP chapters formed across the world, including in Milwaukee in 1989.