AIDS Groups Join National Day of Action at Occupy Wall Street

People living with HIV/AIDS and activists from Housing Works and other AIDS groups joined an estimated 10,000 protesters in New York City for Occupy Wall Street's National Day of Action today, despite about 200 arrests of protesters since Thursday morning.

"In troubled times such as they are for many Americans, the most vulnerable get pushed even further to the margins of 'forget-ables,'" said Eddie Fukui, Housing Works Bookstore Volunteer Coordinator who's been attending OWS for the last two months. "It is especially at times like this that people with HIV/AIDS, health care workers, activists and advocates need to ramp up our voices and make sure to stake our claim of personhood within the context of OWS."

The action marks the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. Housing Works staff, clients and many other AIDS activists from around the country have been mobilizing at OWS from the beginning.

AIDS activists have long used civil disobedience and direct action tactics to advance policies against government indifference and corporate (Big Pharma) greed; they hope to play a major role in fueling the the Occupy Movement.

"For decades, people living with HIV and the people who love them have been at the forefront of social struggle in the U.S. and around the world," said Julie Davids, Director of National HIV Prevention Justice Alliance, who marched in today's action with Housing Works. "AIDS activists are a bridge from civil right and gay liberation struggles to today's 99%."