CDC protest, 1989-1990

Abstract

The Andrew P. Wood papers, 1987-2014 (bulk, 1988-1990) consist of flyers, newspaper clippings, correspondence, t-shirts, bumper stickers, as well as extensive materials relating to the Atlanta chapter of ACT/UP. Most of the materials cover protests to highlight the plight of the gay community during the height of the AIDS crisis. ; Andrew Wood is a graphic designer and gay activist. Born in Atlanta in 1962, the son of two doctors, Wood's early years were filled with art, books, and culture. He attended public schools in Dekalb County and worked in public radio. In 1980, Wood moved to San Francisco for art school and to join the thriving gay organization, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This charitable group of gay men dressed in nuns habits performed activism and street theater informed with the pagan spirituality of the Radical Faerie movement. While in San Francisco, Wood experienced the AIDS epidemic which caused him to return to Atlanta. After the Democratic National Convention in 1988, he and a handful of fellow protesters started an Atlanta Chapter of ACT/UP. ACT/UP practiced aggressive tactics, civil disobedience, and direct action to bring attention to the plight of AIDS sufferers. Wood moved to New Orleans in 1990 and stayed there until 2004 when he returned to Atlanta to care for his elderly mother.