Baltimore Alternative, June 1990

Gtrcy I-imben FBI Busts Seattle Bombers; 3 Hurt in NYC Blast, p. 1 2 77/t BaIti'more June 1 990 ALTERNATIVE AIDS Activists “Storm the NIH” enoc i ae New Treatments, Broader Access to Trials Demanded by Cliff O'Neill BETHESDA, MD — Over 1,000 angry AIDS activists, gathered here from around the nation, laid siege to the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for four hours on May 21st, demanding re¬ search into new treatments for the disease and wider access to drug trials [Protestors came from as far away as Canada, Louisiana, Michigan, and Califor¬ nia. Baltimore was represented by demon¬ strators from AIDS Action Baltimore and the Baltimore Chapter of GLAAD. A large number of protestors from ACT UP/ DC were also present] Eighty-two demonstrators were arrest¬ ed as part of assorted acts of civil disobe¬ dience throughout the day; all but one were charged with trespassing. One dem¬ onstrator was initially charged with resist¬ ing arrest. All were released. Twenty-one of those arrested were tak¬ en into custody at the National Institute for Looking Back With Pride The ALTERNATIVE Looks “Back”— Page 3 Baltimore Artist Looks “Heroic”— Page 22 Megan Hamilton Looks “Vital”— Page 29 Robert Haskins Looks “Lively” — Page 31 How Many to Die This Summer? Pride March Arrives with Memories of Violence by Joseph F. U her “What year was that that Stanley got shot at Leon’s?” Stanley was a well- loved bartender at Leon’s, who left employment at the popular gay watering hole after a man stuck a gun through the door at closing. “The cops used to come (over to The Porthole] after the neighbor¬ hood kids threw bottles through the door and say to each other, ‘These goddamn faggots are always causing trouble. They're more trouble than they’re worth.’” “Whatever happened to Willie? You remember? That artist who got shot outside the Drinkery?” “ Fhey used to come into the Gallery, and throw you up against the wall, and, god help you if you didn’t have a driver’s license on you. Of course, who carried I.D. with you if you were going to the Gallery?” “I can still remember reading in the Sunpopers the letter from Sam Jones’ student after Sam was murdered. “Sam Jones was a generous and kind teacher at Coppin State College, who went the extra mile to help a student graduate on time.” And now, it's Antonio Blake. Brutally murdered on Saturday, May 12th in the Mount Vernon gay bar district. Even in the midst of gay and lesbian pride celebrations this month, the community asks. “Who will be next?” >A “Nine foot-patrolmen . as well as a number of plainclothes officers are assigned” to the Mount Vernon area (Dennis S.J Hill fa police spokesman l said. But, he said, he doesn’t think the police can do much to avert the type of tragedy “ because of the " lifestyle of the gays. The . _ See DIE, page 2 “A billion dollars and only one drug, ” the protesters continued shouting. “AIDS is war.” Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) several miles away, after they staged a sit- in in the office of a top health staffer there. “Ten years. A billion dollars. One drug. Big deal,” thundered the protesters, drumming home their recriminations of much of the federal AIDS research effort with the steady pounding on hundreds of signs. Holding aloft streaming, multi-colored smoke bombs set atop long poles, the hoard of activists charged the main admin¬ istrative building of the NIH, fanning their choking purple smoke with dozens of bright red signs reading, “We’re fired up.” Shouting their indignant criticisms at the curious NIH employees inside the buildings, protesters faced off against three lines of U.S. Park Service Police which were dressed in riot gear, raincoats and sky blue dishwashing gloves and amassed behind two rows of makeshift wood and wire snow fences. Yet another flank of similarly attired park Police on horseback served as the agency’s front line of defense against the constantly moving demonstrators. “A billion dollars and only one drug,” the protesters continued shouting. “AIDS is war.” Five times every hour, there came the deafening roar of air horns going off to mark the one American AIDS death which occurs every twelve minutes. With a series of street theater actions and “negotiated” civil disobedience, the morning action sought to draw attention to each of the protesters’ many specific demands. Those demands included calls for the NIH to focus their research on drugs other than AZT, to date it is the sole drug ap¬ proved to treat HIV virus itself, and to ex¬ pand drug trials to allow for increased par¬ ticipation by women, children and former intravenous drug users. “The focus of the NIH has been on one drug— AZT,” stated Keith Cylar, an ACT UP spokesperson. “Because of that, medi¬ cations for the treatment of opportunistic infections have not been focused on. The opportunistic infections are treatable and preventable and they’re things that we, as people need.” Cylar also argued that some NIH offi¬ cials, also having ties to some drug manu- See STORM THE NIH. page 4