The AIDS Crisis in America

A History of the United States

By Professor Jonathan Bell, published 24th January 2017

In 1987, six gay activists in New York formed the Silence = Death Project; the six men who created the project later joined the protest group ACT UP and offered the logo to the group, with which it remains closely identified. The pink triangle was established as a pro-gay symbol by activists in the United States during the 1970s; the symbol of the pink triangle, usually turned upright rather than inverted, was a conscious attempt to transform a symbol of humiliation into one of solidarity and resistance.

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The Politics of AIDS

The United States was the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, first noticed by doctors in young gay men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. By 1995 AIDS had become the leading cause of death among all Americans aged 25 to 44 with over half a million reported cases and over 300,000 deaths.

In this podcast Professor Jonathan Bell of University College London looks at the development of the AIDS crisis, the response of the LGBT, medical and scientific communities and the response of the political establishment.

1. AIDS Crisis in America: Introduction.
2. The 1970s.
3. Early responses to the epidemic.
4. ACT UP.
5. Health Care.
6. Prejudice from the conservative movement.
7. Scientific rivalries and division.
8. Medical division.
9. LGBT mobilisation.

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