How Activists Were Finally Heard About The AIDS Epidemic
A woman looks at a quilt dedicated to those who lost their battle with AIDS at in Central Park, New York City. Stephen Chernin/Stephen Chernin/Getty Images hide caption
A woman looks at a quilt dedicated to those who lost their battle with AIDS at in Central Park, New York City.
Stephen Chernin/Stephen Chernin/Getty ImagesIn 1992, hundreds of people gathered on the National Mall to view a memorial. It was a 48,000 panel quilt. Each square commemorated a life lost to HIV/AIDS.
But a few blocks away, demonstrators marched to the front of the White House for a very different type of action.
About 300 anti-AIDS activists broke through a police line to throw the ashes of their loved ones onto the White House lawn.
These are two different acts of protest, but they had the same goal.
What makes an action "successful?" And can the tactics and strategies used back then still make change now?
We talk with Radiolab's Tracie Hunte and former ACT-UP activist David Robinson about the AIDS crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and what it means to protest meaningfully and effectively.
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