Statement on Police Participation in World AIDS Day Events

In 2017, on World AIDS Day, to the unpleasant surprise of nearly all the AIDS activists in attendance, the Gay Officers’ Action League (GOAL) led the World AIDS Day (WAD) Out of the Darkness march, then tried to stage a photo with ACT UP and Gays Against Guns (GAG). Ultimately a uniformed NYPD detective stood up at a vigil in a church full of AIDS activists and said, to our further shock, that we were his organization’s friends and heroes.

Though his speech stayed respectfully focussed on the relationship between AIDS and homophobia, the presence of a large number of uniformed NYPD officers was disruptive in that it changed not just the tone of the event, from solemn to tense and even fearful, but the message. WAD is supposed to be about AIDS, a fact some of the other speakers forgot in their rush to fawn all over the group of uniformed officers. As the speeches went on, the message shifted from being about AIDS to trying to convince the audience that we should love the police, without any indications of remorse or change from the NYPD as an organization. It was extraordinarily jarring: We came to commemorate people we loved and instead were told we should praise an organization that did and still does more to harm those with HIV than it does to help.

Ultimately, some of the activists at the vigil booed Bruce Pachter, an event organizer from Heritage of Pride (HOP), who went up on stage and lauded the NYPD rather than either commemorating victims of AIDS or talking about the significance of AIDS activism. Bruce even implied that those of us who still critique and fear the police are being unreasonable. We have since made it clear that we will stop criticizing the NYPD when it earns our respect and not before, and that the way to earn our respect is not through dominating our community events, in uniform, with photographers at hand. Out of the Darkness is not supposed to feel like a slick PR move on behalf of the NYPD.

ACT UP believes in the right of all people whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS to attend and participate in vigils and memorials, including the officers of GOAL. We view the choices made by last year’s event organizers, however, as disrespectful of the historical and present climate between the NYPD and HIV+ civilians. Before the event began, when ACT UP was gathering at the AIDS Memorial, we had not-quite-joking conversations about whether the nearby NYPD officers were putting on gloves because it was cold or because we were AIDS activists. (Police often put on gloves before interacting with HIV+ people because of myths about how HIV is spread.) Some people who approached the AIDS Memorial left immediately, not sure what the reason for the heavy police presence was and not wanting to be around if the cops turned on us. That is the reality of our relationship with the NYPD.

World AIDS Day is not a lovefest for police officers, many of whom still mock us, encourage HIV criminalization, and assault and murder civilians — including some of those whose names were read by GAG at last year’s vigil. For Bruce and others to use WAD as a chance to sycophantically go on about how much they love the police as an institution is an incredible insult to the millions of people living with HIV, both in the US and around the world, for whom police make life harder and more traumatizing. For the organizers to give the NYPD pride of place on WAD is unacceptable and will not be tolerated again.

ACT UP chooses to support Out of the Darkness this year, despite our misgivings about the presence of the NYPD, because of how important this event is to our community. If activists and survivors absent themselves from vigils and services intended to honor people affected by HIV/AIDS, we allow these events to be further co-opted and sanitized, while simultaneously depriving ourselves of opportunities to engage in community mourning and healing.

Out of the Darkness begins at the AIDS Memorial, Saturday, December 1st, at 6PM. We put this statement out in advance of World AIDS Day to articulate our position, and to encourage others to come to Out of the Darkness with the explicit understanding that their attendance does not mean that they endorse the police. If anyone feels uncomfortable, we invite them to join us as we use this event as intended: to honor and commemorate the lives of our friends and loved ones.

ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! END AIDS!

About ACT UP

Founded in 1987, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP currently meets every Monday night at 7PM ET via Zoom. Notes: you will be asked to contribute your first & last name and email address to access online meetings, and KN-95 masks are required for ACT UP NY in person meetings/actions/gatherings. All individuals are welcome!

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