Andy Velez on Gay Civil Rights: Past, Present, and Future
As the AIDS epidemic took hold in the 1980s, there was plenty of anger and fear to go around, especially in New York City. Familiar faces withered and became unrecognizable, then disappeared completely. Misinformation from the scientific world and inaction from the government abounded.
Out of this grew ACT UP, a group committed to effecting political change and action in the face of the growing epidemic. Their tactics, though non-violent, were radical – an expression of the urgency of the matter at hand. There was no time for politesse.
With the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. days away, I spoke to Andy Velez, 70, a member of ACT UP since those early days. Andy is a writer, a trained psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and an educator. We spoke about his experiences with ACT UP – about which he’s currently writing a book – and how fear and anger can motivate.
It left me wondering… are we angry enough now?
“I happened to see a flyer…”
“We were dealing with life and death…”
“Power is never transferred willingly…”
“Something has shifted…”
“…they couldn’t be quite so comfortable.”
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