Today (May 5) at 5pmEST, a discussion hosted by Between the Lines, Verso, A Radical Guide, Melville House, and PM Press, with panelists including Bushel friend and “Signs of the Times” participant L.A. Kaufman. as well as Gary Kinsmen, Dr. OmiSoore H. Dryden, Peter Linebaugh and Timothy Faust.
“While many have pointed to the similarities between the 1918 flu and the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many examples of past health crises that radicals might reflect on when trying to make sense of the current crisis. Most recently, the activist response to the HIV-AIDS crisis offers lessons for how activists might respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When HIV-AIDS was used as way to divide people—by sexuality, race, gender, class, drug use, etc.—activists learned not to rely on a “public heath” system that protected only some of the public and deemed others expendable. Instead, they organized collective responses, including direct action and mutual aid projects, to protect communities from both the disease and the state response to the disease. What can we learn from past activist responses to health crises that will help us protect vulnerable communities and continue building resistance movements during COVID-19? Panelists: L.A. Kauffman , Gary Kinsmen, Dr. OmiSoore H. Dryden, and Peter Linebaugh with host Timothy Faust Sponsored by Between the Lines, Verso, A Radical Guide, Melville House, and PM Press.”