Responding to the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GLBT Historical Society is relaunching its Fighting Back series as a weekly, online virtual forum. Introduced as a program series three years ago, Fighting Back was a monthly, intergenerational discussion that brought together veteran LGBTQ activists to discuss how the struggles of the past inform our present. The new series focuses on identifying what lessons and strategies from the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic may help us understand and respond to COVID-19. The intention is to find ways to transform our feelings of anxiety, despair or anger into action, and to identify models for building community and solidarity in the midst of this pandemic.

The first program in this series brings together San Francisco ACT UP veterans to discuss what direct-action protest strategies were effective during the 1980s and 1990s and consider how these might be adapted during an epidemic that requires us to shelter in place. The panel will be moderated by GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick.

Register for the free webinar on Wednesday, April 1, 6 to 7 pm.

This program is supported by California Humanities through a Humanities for All Project Grant.