Greater public awareness and advancements in medicine have largely removed the stigma surrounding AIDS. But a few decades ago, the dangers of AIDS were being ignored or sometimes suppressed by public officials.
The Los Angeles branch of ACT UP was formed 35 years ago in response to this lack of action. Through protests and demonstrations, the organization demanded public officials and the private sector to inform the public about AIDS and invest in treatment options.
ACT UP LA was active for about a decade. In that time span, their work led to the creation of the first public AIDS ward, and Los Angeles’ first needle exchange program.
Members of ACT UP LA meet in West Hollywood. Credit: Chuck Stallard.
Now 35 years later, ACT UP LA is focusing on an oral history project to document the organization’s activism, and chronicle the difficulties of advancing AIDS awareness during the 1980s.
The group was compelled to embark on this project in 2021 after some members of ACT UP LA passed away.
“It’s an aging group, so this story has to be told now, or it's never gonna get recorded,” says Jordan Peimer, one of the original members of ACT UP LA.
When the oral history project is complete, it will include about 100 testimonies, with hundreds of hours of stories. Peimer hopes future activists will draw on ACT UP LA’s body of work for inspiration.
Seventy testimonies have been collected already, and Peimer estimates that it will take a couple more years to gather the remaining stories and finish the project.
ACT UP LA members (lower right) attend a demonstration in Century City in 1991. Credit: Chuck Stallard.