GMHC’s archival records are kept at the New York Public Library connecting to the Wi-Fi network at the library’s main building provides access to over a thousand videos in the collection, including organizational oral histories and volunteer testimonies. The office space was donated to the organization by disco pioneer (and co-creator of the legendary gay nightclub Paradise Garage) Mel Cheren. The episode’s title refers to GMHC’s first headquarters at 318 West 22nd Street in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Kramer’s papers are housed at the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Find out more about Kramer’s life and legacy in this Making Gay History episode and the accompanying episode notes. Kramer dramatized this period in his largely autobiographical 1985 play The Normal Heart (later adapted into a film ). You can read one of the organization’s early newsletters here. Six months later, Kramer and five others- Nathan Fain, Lawrence Mass, Paul Popham, Paul Rapoport, and Edmund White -founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC).
In the summer of 1981, 80 gay men met in the living room of screenwriter and author Larry Kramer to see what could be done about the new disease affecting their community read about the gathering in this eyewitness account by Andy Humm. Because there was no test for HIV at the time, the actual numbers are unknown.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, by the end of 1984 there were 7,699 reported cases of AIDS in the United States. This chapter covers the spring of 1984 to December 1984. (Please note, however, that the Patient Zero theory referenced at the top has since been discredited for more information on the subject, watch the documentary Killing Patient Zero. įor a New York City-specific timeline, see this New York magazine article. Decades later, he speaks with his client’s widow, for whom AIDS is a daily reality.įor a comprehensive overview and useful links related to HIV and AIDS, consult this HIV.gov timeline. Eric is confronted with the reality of AIDS when he volunteers for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.