Still from a video of an ACT UP San Francisco demonstration in San Francisco, 1989; footage by Charles Cyberski, Charles Cyberski Videotapes (1994-03), GLBT Historical Society.

In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, the GLBT Historical Society is rebroadcasting a selection of events from our summer Fighting Back series, which ran earlier this year. The series examined various aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, asking what lessons could be learned and applied to the COVID-19 pandemic happening today. The broadcast will take place at 12:00 noon, PST on our website here.

SCHEDULE

12:00–1:30 Confronting the Stigma of Disease

A panel of activists and community leaders discusses the destructive phenomenon of stigmatization in epidemics, including prejudices against groups heavily impacted by AIDS in the 1980s (including gay and bisexual men) and those falsely associated with COVID-19 today (including Asians and Asian Americans).

1:35–3:10 Housing Insecurity & Public Health

A panel of housing advocates, policymakers and historians discusses how the HIV/AIDS epidemic corresponded with the growth in homelessness in the Bay Area, and considers how the response in the 1980s might inform the response to limiting the spread of COVID-19 in the homeless population today.

3:10–4:45 The International AIDS Conference in San Francisco, 1990–2020

At the Sixth International AIDS Conference in San Francisco in 1990, activists and people with HIV from around the world confronted political and public health leaders, demanding action in response to the growing pandemic. A reunion of activists and attendees of the 1990 conference reflects on the conference's legacy during the COVID-19 era.

4:45–6:20 Direct Action, Marching & Parading

Direct action, marching and taking to the streets were critical for drawing attention to the AIDS crisis, but the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic mandates social separation, not physical gathering. A panel of community historians, veteran organizers and younger activists discusses how these strategies are being adapted and deployed during the coronavirus pandemic.

6:20–8:00 Pandemic Sex

The AIDS epidemic transformed the way that we discuss and engage in sexual activity. In today’s world of social distancing, hookup culture and phone apps, a panel of sex educators, activists and a historian consider how we find connection, sex and love in the era of coronavirus, applying lessons learned from HIV/AIDS prevention efforts to help strategize safer-sex options in the present.