“THE GOVERNMENT HAS BLOOD ON ITS HANDS – ONE AIDS DEATH EVERY HALF HOUR,” a demonstrator is arrested
“THE GOVERNMENT HAS BLOOD ON ITS HANDS – ONE AIDS DEATH EVERY HALF HOUR,” a demonstrator is arrested during ACT UP’s second anniversary action, New York City, March 28, 1989. Photo by Mark Peterson..On Tuesday, March 28, 1989, twenty-eight years ago today, AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP) marked its second anniversary with a massive demonstration in downtown New York City..In the city’s “largest demonstration on AIDS to date,” the New York Times wrote, “about 3,000 chanting marchers, demanding more government funds and services, ringed City Hall Park yesterday and briefly blocked the Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway and other streets..“‘Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!’ some demonstrators shouted.."Dozens carried banners and posters calling for more money, expansion of overcrowded hospitals, and housing for homeless people with AIDS…."ActUp has conducted dozens of protests, the largest before yesterday involving several hundred people on Wall Street last year.."Several times during [the] noisy demonstration the crowd broke through police lines and protesters sat in the street, interrupting rush-hour traffic around the Brooklyn Bridge and on Broadway, Centre Street and Park Row.."About 500 police officers were on hand. Police officials said 200 demonstrators were arrested. ActUp’s legal monitors said they counted 211 arrests, two for assault and the rest for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, mostly for interfering with traffic. Most of those arrested were released after being booked by the police.” #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #ACTUP #FightBack #FightAIDS #Resist (at New York City Hall) -- source link
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