Arrests as ACT UP Occupies Wall Street to end AIDS

Tax Wall Street and End AIDS , Watch Video
By Melanie Nathan

NEW YORK — With the The U.S.A. gearing up to host the World AIDS Conference in July 2012 in D.C. and in an action reminiscent of the 80’s,  ACT-UP  protests are back with a poignant  combat AIDS message,  in association with the Occupy Movement.

Protesters wearing Robin Hood costumes  chained themselves together blocked traffic in the Wall Street area in New York City Monday, demanding taxation to eradicate AIDS.

The protest was loud in true ACT UP fashion. Police  used chain cutters and made several arrests of protestors, some wrestled to the pavement.

According to an AP report:

“New York Stock Exchange workers “jeered from the sidewalk as the handcuffed protesters were loaded into vans.

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power and other groups gathered at City Hall, walked down Broadway ending at Trinity Church near Wall Street with a tribute to loved ones lost to AIDS.”

During the 80’s ACT UP did not have access to utilize social media to mobilize and still was successful in bringing much needed attention to the AIDS/HIV crisis. There is still much work to be done and  true to form, with the help of Facebook messaging,  a noisy protest was accomplished.

The action was taken to memorialize ACT UP’s 25th Anniversary of  direct action, and billed as “ACT UP and OCCUPY – TAX WALL STREET! – END AIDS! The march started at City Hall (Broadway and Murray Street) and
ended at Wall Street.

ACT UP is calling for a small tax (0.05%) on Wall Street transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money needed to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the US.

ACT UP was formed in New York in March 1987 amid the growing AIDS crisis. The organization now has worldwide chapters.

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