Members of the political action group the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) delivered coffins to the steps of Cleveland City Hall in the group’s first public demonstration in more than 20 years.
In what long-term HIV survivor and ACT UP Cleveland spokesperson Gil Kudrin called a “political funeral,” ACT UP members shouldered six primitive black coffins – symbolizing people living with HIV expected to die without access to reduced-cost medications and treatments via federal HIV/AIDS funding programs.
The demonstration took place just minutes before the City of Cleveland kicked off a public event inside to honor long-term HIV/AIDS survivors and declare June 5 HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day in Cuyahoga County.
ACT UP members repeated the group’s decades-old call-and-response rally cry: “Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!”
Demonstrators dispersed before the ceremony began.
Kudrin – who joined ACT UP after receiving his own HIV diagnosis in the 1980s – revived the Cleveland chapter of the group in April after a nearly 20-year hiatus, drawing dozens of new members.
Since then, the group has put public pressure on city and county officials to create an emergency preparedness plan to stockpile HIV medications ahead of massive cuts to federal HIV/AIDS funding.
Last month, a leaked preliminary budget for the 2026 fiscal year outlined more than $40 billion in cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget – potentially gutting federal HIV/AIDS programs that serve roughly half of the 1.2 million Americans currently living with the virus.
Kudrin and members of ACT UP Cleveland leadership met with the AIDS Funding Collaborative and public health officials from both the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County on April 29. However, the meeting did not produce a strategic plan to access and stockpile medications.
Honoring long-term HIV/AIDS survivors
In a pre-recorded speech played at the official City Hall event, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb thanked long-term survivors for their contributions to advancing HIV/AIDS research – particularly via their participation in clinical trials that helped researchers learn how to better treat the virus.
“This day is more than a date on the calendar. It’s a tribute to the resilience, courage and the enduring spirit of those who have lived with HIV for decades,” Bibb said. “Many were diagnosed before effective treatments existed, enduring not only the physical challenges of the disease, but also the profound stigma and isolation that came with it.”
“Your strength has paved the way for progress,” he added.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of all Americans living with HIV are over the age of 50 – including long-term survivor and AIDS activist Robert Toth, who helped organize the event at the behest of fellow AIDS activist Brian C. Jones.
Jones died in 2024, after living with the virus for nearly 40 years.
‘Silence equals death’
Cleveland Public Health Director Dr. David Margolius openly discussed the political funeral during the ceremony, commending “the incredible advocacy from the newly reformed ACT UP here in Cleveland.”
Margolius has attended at least one ACT UP meeting in person, addressing members’ concerns around HIV/AIDS funding that Cuyahoga County receives via the Ryan White CARE Act.
“The protest today was beautiful, and I know it won’t end,” Margolius said. “Today is about honoring that protest and that advocacy.”
Prior to his role with the city of Cleveland, Margolius treated patients in San Francisco General Hospital’s AIDS ward. When it opened in 1983, the ward became the first dedicated in-patient unit for HIV/AIDS patients in the country.
During a time when most hospitals refused to treat patients who tested positive for the virus, Margolius recalled the doctors and health care providers that set a new global standard of care.
“Everybody who worked there would take off their gloves and hold the hands of their patients, because they knew science – and they knew that was OK, and that touch and that love mattered,” Margolius said. “I say all that within the context of ACT UP because we cannot go back to that. But unfortunately, people in the White House and the Statehouse are trying to take us back there.”
“Silence equals death,” he added, invoking one of the group’s most iconic political catchphrases. “And at the City of Cleveland, we won’t be silent.” 🔥
Ignite Action
- To follow ACT UP Cleveland on Facebook, click here.
- To learn more about the history of ACT UP, click here.
- To find a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program medical provider in your area, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio senator, click here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
Know an LGBTQ+ Ohio story we should cover? TELL US!
Submit a story!
