The AIDS epidemic modernized the gay rights movement and propelled gay liberation by decimating and restructuring communities, creating solidarity, and necessitating out-of-the-box confrontations.

When Americans began dying of AIDS, the disease had yet to be named.
Due to the number of gay men effected, the disease was often referred to as “gay cancer,” as in this 1981 article.

Today, we know AIDS can effect anyone.
These trading cards called attention to different people affected by AIDS. 15% of profits from the trading cards were donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

In 1983, Dr. Jay Levy led one of the teams that isolated HIV, the virus which can lead to AIDS. This sign hung in their laboratory.

Even as more information about AIDS became known, fear and confusion were prevalent. Some medical professionals refused to treat AIDS patients, fearing they’d contract the disease. Pamphlets like this attempted to correct misconceptions.

By 1985, over 15,000 cases of AIDS had been reported.
However, government officials including the Reagan administration remained largely silent on the topic as activists placed more and more pressure on leaders to act.

: A slightly later ACT UP poster

“That summer of ’85 really changed the whole epidemic,” remembered one activist. Rock Hudson announced that he had AIDS.
“Rock Hudson put a face on it," the activist continued, "And once you put a face on AIDS, there was a substantial shift in resources.”

In October 1986, the CDC reported that AIDS was disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic Americans.

This wasn't a surprise. Activists, health educators, and concerned community members had been addressing this for years.

Earlier in 1986, the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays sponsored the National Conference on AIDS in the Black Community in Washington D.C.

Conference coordinator Craig Harris delivered the following remarks:

In 1987, President Reagan finally declared AIDS “public health enemy number one.”

By that time, Americans had been fighting AIDS for half a decade.

: A poster criticizing Reagan's silence from that year.

The Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) was one of the organizations that had been active for years by 1987. One of the earliest AIDS organizations, it was formed in January 1982.

Part of Gay Men’s Health Crisis' work was promoting safe sex. The organization tried a variety of methods to reach as many people as possible, including creating materials in multiple languages.

One of the more creative methods Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) used to fight AIDS? Comics.

They promoted safe sex through these explicit comic books.

By the 1990s, AIDS had entered the public discourse, including the release of films like “An Early Frost” (1990), “Longtime Companion” (1990), and “Philadelphia” (1993).

We often associate the 1980s with the AIDS epidemic, but AIDS continues to affect Americans.

In this 1993 comic, artist Jennifer Camper “bears angry witness” to the continuing impact of AIDS.