Fed Up Queers

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Fed Up Queers, or FUQ, was a

activist direct action group that began in New York City. The group was made up mostly of lesbians such as Jennifer Flynn (who later co-founded the New York City AIDS Housing Network as well as Health GAP), though notable participants also included gay rights pioneer and Stonewall riots veteran Bob Kohler,[1] and writer Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. The activists who formed FUQ came together loosely for a few actions in 1998, but the first action attributed to Fed Up Queers was on World AIDS Day, December 1, 1998, when they visited New York State Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn
's house in Queens at midnight to protest her stance on names reporting.

The group grew out of the

Amadou Diallo

Fed Up Queers held political funerals for murdered

AIDS policies, but focused much of their work on then mayor Rudy Giuliani and the New York City Police Department
(NYPD). Fed Up Queers gained notoriety in the media for three actions:

They were the first

Amadou Diallo by NYPD officers. As one participant wrote, there had already been "protests, but no one was getting arrested and we wanted to raise the stakes. We wanted to block the Brooklyn Bridge, but we only had eight people who could risk arrest, so we said okay, we'll block the bridge with eight people. That's how desperate and angry and empowered we felt."[6] Arrestees eventually included Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, former mayor David Dinkins, and actors Susan Sarandon, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Dick Gregory
.

Later, Fed Up Queers stormed Giuliani's keynote speech to the

Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. This action made the news because security guards beat and bloodied several activists, and clips of both the beatings and Giuliani making a joke about "his activists" played on all city television stations.[7][8][9]
The activists won a civil suit against the hotel, and were represented by well known radical lawyer Susan Tipograph.

Fed Up Queers, with the support of Act Up and Health GAP, disrupted kick-off events of Vice President Al Gore's Presidential campaign in three cities, denouncing his role in the threat of trade sanctions against Nelson Mandela's South Africa if it did not repeal the Medicines Act. Ultimately, pressure from Jesse Jackson and activists resulted in the United States adjusting its trade policies to enable poor countries, such as South Africa, to gain access to essential medicines.[10][11]

The group lasted two and half years. Some claim the group disbanded due to tactical disagreements. Others claim the breakup was due to one activist pushing his agenda of cross-generational sex.[12] Various members of the group continued to stage actions using the name, or occasionally reuniting in response to particular events.[13]

A new group called Fed Up Queers formed in 2009, in Arkansas.[14]

Notable actions

Publications

References

  1. ISBN 1-85984-356-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. ^ "N+1:How to Survive a Footnote". 11 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  3. ^ "Nobody Passes: Is That Blood on Your Hands". Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  4. ^ "Two-Faced Justice...First Diallo Arrestees". Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  5. ^ "Revolutionary Worker Online: Protests Denounce Police Murder of Amadou Diallo". Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  6. ^ "Nobody Passes: Is That Blood on Your Hands". Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  7. ^ "Gay Today: Group Expresses Its Fury Over Log Cabin-GOP Alliance". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  8. ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (29 August 1999). "New York Times: Giuliani Gets Warm Reception From Gay Republicans' Group". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  9. ^ "Village Voice: Confronting the Pride Divide". 31 August 1999. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  10. ^ "Harvard Law School: The South Africa AIDS Controversy, A Case Study in Patent Law and Policy" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  11. ^ "The Body: The Battle for Global Treatment Access". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  12. ISBN 978-1-59376-195-0
    .
  13. ^ "Raging Pride: Exclusive Video - ACT UP's 25th Anniversary Commemoration". 4 May 2012. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  14. ^ "We Are Fed Up Queers". Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  15. ^ Hu, Winnie (29 June 1998). "New York Times: Spirit and Spectacle In a Show of Pride". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  16. ^ "Workers World October 8, 1998: Zero Tolerance for Gay-Trans Bashing". Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  17. ^ "New York News: Back to the Streets". Retrieved 2009-06-10.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Wake Up for World AIDS Day: Queens Chronicle Article". 9 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  19. ISBN 9781604861495
    . Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  20. ^ "Workers World: Gay-bashing must end, marchers say". Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  21. ^ "abovegroundpool: event flyer image". 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  22. ^ "CNN Live coverage on You Tube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  23. ^ "New York News:Confronting the Pride Divide". Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  24. ^ "CNN.com: Rockefeller Center Christmas tree officially lighted". CNN. Retrieved 2015-09-15.

External links

  • Archive of NYC Fed Up Queers images, abovegroundpool on flickr
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