Part history, part memoir, part primer, the ACT UP BOOK PROJECT will tell the story of the AIDS activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). I will use my own experiences – my awakening as an activist, my work as an ACT UP organizer and “chant queen,” and my coming of age as a gay man on the frontlines of the AIDS crisis – to help illuminate the larger story of the organization and how we changed the world.
The book will be based primarily on first person accounts and contemporaneous writings, including interviews with my ACT UP colleagues, and original documents, videos, and archival materials. My goal is to convey the incredible density of the experience – the hospital visits as well as the demonstrations, the parties as well as the political battles – while documenting the remarkable struggles and contributions of the group and many of its individuals members.
It was my privilege to witness first-hand how a group of individuals could make a difference in the world. It is my hope that this book will inspire the next generation of activists, both gay and straight, to find their voice, to fight the good fight, and to make change happen for their world and ours.