In the lead up to Logo’s Trailblazers special on June 26, we’re showcasing pioneers of LGBT rights. Today we look at trailblazing seniors who fought—and in some cases are still fighting—for equality.
Larry Kramer
78
The best-selling author and playwright never set out to be an activist, but wound up co-founding two of the world’s most influential AIDS organizations.
Though he hadn't been active in LGBT politics before, Kramer gathered some of New York City’s “A-list” gays in his apartment in 1981 to address the growing health epidemic facing the community.
He was 46 at the time, but had the passion and drive of a much younger man.
Out of that meeting grew Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the first organization to raise funds and provide services for people with HIV and AIDS. As recounted in The Normal Heart, though, Kramer’s confrontational style clashed with other board members and he was removed from GMHC in 1983. Undeterred, he continued the fight and, in 1987, co-founded AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP), a direct-action group using guerrilla tactics to garner media attention.
Though his health has deteriorated, Kramer continues to speak out about AIDS and the LGBT community in general. On July 24, 2013, he married his lifelong partner, architectural designer David Webster, who had actually jilted him back in the 1970s.
Most recently Kramer penned the screenplay for HBO’s adaptation of The Normal Heart. But his most ambitious project is yet to come: For almost 35 years he has been writing The American People: A History, which documents gay American history dating back to the Stone Age. At over 4,000 pages, it’s slated for publication in two volumes beginning in 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment