Larry Kramer Remembered by ACT UP/NY Veterans Maxine Wolfe, Eric Sawyer and Jean Carlomusto
Channel: John Riley
Date: 09/06/2020

Long-time members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP for short, discuss the legacy of Larry Kramer, a key figure in the history of the direct action group. The group was founded in 1987. That same year 13,329 died of AIDS in the US and there was only 1 overpriced drug ($10,000/yr) that wasn't good on its own . Every year the deathtoll was higher until 1995 when it peaked at 41,699. In 1996 it began to go down with the release of a then new class of drugs called protease inhibitors.

Author and writer Larry Kramer galvanized the AIDS movement in 1987 and helped found the direct action group ACT UP/NY, the first of 150 chapters in the US, Europe and Australia and other places in the world. Joining us to discuss his life will be ACT UP co-founder Eric Sawyer. Also joining us is Maxine Wolfe, with a long activist history in left and feminist groups. Documentary film maker Jean Carlo Musto will discuss her film "Larry Kramer In Love and Anger".