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Safer at Home: Exploring the ONE Archives Collection

No Bed! Now I'm Dead

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1. Protest against the the lack of hospital space for AIDS patients
2. You don't have to look sick to have AIDS Text continues: "Men get it. Women get it. Even children get AIDS. Protect yourself. Protect your children. If you already have the virus, treatment will keep you healthy. If you don't have it, you can make sure you don't get it. Call today for a blood test. It's free. They won't even ask your name. Don't wait. Call today." The center of the poster contains a black and white photograph of a woman in a jacket, her hands resting on her hips. The right margin contains white text on black background.
4. Simply having one on hand won't do any good Text continues: "For a latex condom to be effective against AIDS, you've got to put it on the correct appendage. Use a condom. Barring abstinence, it's the best way to prevent AIDS. For more information about HIV and AIDS, call the AIDS Action Committee Hotline at 1-800-235-2331." Black text on white background. The center of the poster contains a color photograph of a yellow condom inside a clear wrapper.
6. Protect Our People Text continues: "If you bring AIDS into a relationship, it can infect your partner and your unborn children. The only 100% sure protection is doing without sex completely. Next best is using a latex condom with every partner, male or female, every time. Remember, sharing needles for drugs can give you AIDS. Drugs and alcohol affect your judgement, too, and make it hard to stay safe. For more information, call the AIDS hotline at 1-800-922-2437 in Southern California or 1-800-367-2437 in Northern California. AIDS. It's up to you." Black text on white background. The lower right quadrant of the poster contains a black and white photograph of a condom and a feather.
7. What the smart dressed man is wearing, condoms
8. Or, you can stick your head in the sand
9. Life Preserver Text continues: "Wearing condoms saves lives. Maybe yours. Your partner's. Or the loves of future partners. And though condoms can't cure AIDS, they can stop it. But only if you wear them. So make a habit of sleeping with condoms. As though your life depended on it. Use condoms. There's living proof they stop AIDS." Black text on gray background. The upper half of the poster contains a black and white photograph of an unwrapped condom.
10. What have you got against a condom?
11. Put it on

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Week 13 (July 20, 2020) This exhibition began with a photograph of an AIDS protest sign denouncing the shortage of hospital beds for AIDS patients. As COVID cases rise across the U.S., this picket sign from the LA chapter of ACT UP carries important messages and reminders. The sign, in the shape of a tombstone, is simple but powerful. Printed in block letters with a black marker and filled in with a pink highlighter, the text reads: “No Bed! Now I’m Dead.” At first glance, this sign, like the one posted earlier, alludes to the shortage of hospital beds. Read again, it might also draw attention to those who do not have access to needed medical care due to lack of health insurance, financial insecurity, or limited geographic access to hospitals. Those who are wealthy and white are more likely to have the ability to access high quality care and the means to more easily take time off from work in order to seek medical care or care for a loved one.

Reading this phrase for a third time, the second sentence stands out. With more than 580K deaths worldwide and 138K in the US, it is important to grasp the grim reality of this virus. Furthermore, as reported by the CDC, “Among some racial and ethnic minority groups, including non-Hispanic black persons, Hispanics and Latinos, and American Indians/Alaska Natives, evidence points to higher rates of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 than among non-Hispanic white persons.” Safer at home does not mean safe at home, and we must continue to fight for the most vulnerable among us.