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ACT-UP Golden Gate Records, 1988-1993
MSS 98-47  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • General
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternate Forms Available
  • Related Collections
  • Separated Material
  • Acquisition Information
  • System of Arrangement
  • Processing Information
  • Organizational History
  • Scope and Content of Collection

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: University of California, San Francisco Archives & Special Collections
    Title: ACT-UP Golden Gate records
    Creator: ACT-UP Golden Gate
    Identifier/Call Number: MSS 98-47
    Physical Description: 1 box .5 linear feet
    Date (inclusive): 1988-1993
    Abstract: Though donated by and named after ACT-UP Golden Gate, a significant portion of the materials are from 1990 and earlier, before ACT-UP GG separated from ACT-UP San Francisco, in September of that year. The largest amount of material concerns ACT-UP actions and responses to the 6th International AIDS Conference which was held in San Francisco in June of 1990. There are also materials about the 5th and 7th conferences and materials from ACT-UP Golden Gate's Treatment Issues Committee.
    Language of Material: Collection materials are in English
    Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/ .

    General

    Finding Aid Written By:
    Julia Bazar
    Date Completed:
    February 2007

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright for ACT-UP Golden Gate materials has been assigned to the Library & Center for Knowledge Management. Copyright for other materials has not been assigned to the Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives & Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Library & Center for Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], ACT-UP Golden Gate Records, MSS 98-47, The UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management, Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.

    Alternate Forms Available

    There are no alternate forms of this collection.

    Related Collections

    MSS 2000-06 Nancy (Shaw) Stoller Papers
    MSS 2000-32 AIDS History Project Audio/Video Collection
    MSS 98-49 AIDS Community-Based Organization Records Collections

    Separated Material

    None

    Acquisition Information

    The ACT-UP Golden Gate Records were given to the Library by ACT-UP Golden Gate in 1998. They were surveyed and collected by then AIDS Project Archivist Bill Walker. The formal deed of gift was signed in April 2000.

    System of Arrangement

    Arranged to the folder level.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Julia Bazar, December 2005

    Organizational History

    The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) New York was formed in March 1987. ACT-UP San Francisco was formed a year later. ACT-UP Golden Gate separated from ACT-UP San Francisco after a contentious meeting on September 14, 1990. The focus of the new group was on treatment, research, education, and prevention issues. An all volunteer organization, much of the work was done by committees, and weekly meetings were held to discuss proposed demonstrations, educational campaigns, meeting with corporate or governmental officials, and endorsements of other organizations actions. The organization considers all of Northern California within its service area, but is primarily focused on San Francisco and its immediate environs. In 2000 or 2001 the organization changed its name to Survive AIDS.
    The ACT UP/Golden Gate Statement of Purpose from a c. 1991 newcomer's packet reads: "ACT UP/GOLDEN GATE is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals, united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. We are engaged in a battle to reform the research and treatment of HIV and its associated opportunistic diseases, intensify HIV education and prevention efforts, and revolutionize the health care delivery system in this country. The HIV pandemic crosses all racial, sexual, age, cultural and class boundaries and we are committed to involving all affected communities in this fight. THE FIGHT AGAINST THE HIV PANDEMIC IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY."
    The ACT-UP Golden Gate committees include: Coordinating Committee, State and Local Issues Committee, City Issues Committee (CHIC) [San Francisco], Fundraising Committee, Insurance and Health Access Committee, Treatment Issues Committee, Media Relations Committee, Women's Action Committee (WAC), Outreach Committee. There are also several Working Groups and Subcommittees. INS (Immigration) Working Group is independent. The Treatment Issues Committee oversees the KS Working Group, Neurology Subcommittee, Testing Issues Working Group, Count Down 18 Months, Immune Based Therapy Working Group, and the Anti-viral Subcommittee. The State Issues Committee has the AIDS Drug Program Working Group, the UC Research Subcommittee, and the FDB Working Group. Committee chairs were in charge of keeping their committee's records.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Though donated by and named after ACT-UP Golden Gate, a significant portion of the materials are from 1990 and earlier, before ACT-UP GG separated from ACT-UP San Francisco, in September of that year. The largest amount of material concerns ACT-UP actions and responses to the 6th International AIDS Conference which was held in San Francisco in June of 1990. There are also some materials on the 5th and 7th International AIDS conferences, as well as both ATAC (AIDS Treatment Activist Conference) and ATAC² (2nd AIDS Treatment Activist Conference) from 1990 and 1991, and the 13th and 14th AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) meetings December 1991 and April 1992.
    While there is some documentation of ACT-UP General meetings and a few documents concerning the City Issues Committee (CHIC) [San Francisco] and the INS (Immigration) Working Group, the majority of the ACT-UP SF and ACT-UP GG materials appear to be from the Treatment Issues Committee and mostly concern drug protocol studies, ethics, and length of time for drugs to be approved by the FDA. There are no formal minutes and only a few agendas and formal reports from either ACT-UP SF or ACT-UP GG
    Most of the more formal documents were actually issued by ACT-UP New York. This includes the two ACT-UP AIDS Treatment Agendas (1990 and 1991). The ACT-UP New York folder contains other New York-issued and New York-specific items, including a series of newspaper articles that touch on ACT-UP or AIDS, and fundraising letters from Harvey Fierstein and Keith Haring. The Boston materials focus on a meeting and protest held in Boston in 1988. The Washington, D.C. items are similar, though they also include information on an NIH Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. The "other ACT-UP groups" file includes both flyers for local non-ACT-UP events or organizations and materials from ACT-UP chapters in Louisiana, and elsewhere, and materials on police brutality in Canada.
    The two folders of ACT-UP publications include: 1- AIDS Treatment News (SF), 5- ACT-UP San Francisco newsletters, 1- ACT-UP Reports (NY), as well as several AIDS Action News (Toronto) from 1988. The clippings include a variety of articles concerning various ACT-UP protests or people from around the country.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    AIDS (Disease)--Political aspects--United States
    AIDS (Disease)--Social aspects--California--San Francisco Bay Area
    AIDS activists--United States
    ACT UP San Francisco (Organization)
    ACT UP Golden Gate (Organization)