20 years of ACTing UPTommi Avicolli Meccabyline‚ Apr. 02‚ 2007Under a banner of “Welcome to the AIDS Eviction Capital of the World,” a small but enthusiastic group of about 70 activists marched from 18th and Castro to the site of Caldwell Banker a block away to draw attention to the gentrification of the world’s most infamous queer neighborhood. That gentrification has resulted in countless evictions of long-term tenants with AIDS and the pricing out of community nonprofits. The March 29 demonstration and die-in in front of Caldwell’s was part of San Francisco’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the formation of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), the leading AIDS activist group in the late 80s and early 90s. The commemoration was organized by the newly formed ACT UP/Bay Area and the veteran radical group Gay Shame. |