Published in Positively Aware on April 3, 2023

“You'd think one day we'd learn. You don't get anything unless you fight for it, united and with visible numbers. If ACT UP taught us anything, it taught us that.”

—Larry Kramer

The time to fight has once again come knocking on our door. In the dark early years of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, gay men and our allies found the strength to build a grassroots movement to empower ourselves and change the national conversation. ACT UP was the juggernaut that forced our government’s response to the epidemic and ultimately saved an untold number of lives. Ours was a community-led response when it seemed no one was listening. Over time, the paradigm shifted to a celebrity-fashioned response. It became a normal fixture in pop culture to join the fight against HIV/AIDS—witnessed by the high-profile names of Elizabeth Taylor, Reba McEntire, Kenneth Cole, and Bono. It was a young boy from Indiana named Ryan White who helped change the narrative, too. Yet today, far fewer Red Ribbons are visible on celebrity lapels during red carpet awards ceremonies, but that isn’t to say the voices have gone away. The pendulum has indeed swung back to the grassroots community, and if recent events are any indication, there is no better time than the present to elevate the patients’ voice for advocates and activists alike. The time to fight is now!