Black and white clad protesters rally in Philadelphia
On the eve of Halloween, nearly 500 activists and protesters rallied outside yesterday’s U.S. democratic presidential candidate debate in Philadelphia, urging candidates to commit to fighting AIDS both in the U.S. and around the world.  

Sponsored by ACT UP Philadelphia, last night’s rally made a bold statement to candidates and debate attendees, as demonstrators—clad in skeleton costumes to signify the millions of people worldwide who die each year of AIDS—carried signs and shouted chants such as “We want health care, not just welfare!” and “Dead people can’t vote!”

The hour-long rally was held on the campus of Drexel University, where democratic candidates—including Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards—discussed hot topics from Iraq to Iran to health care. Members from New York-based advocacy group Housing Works, African Services Committee, as well as other activists and ACT UP members made the trip to show their support and make their demands. 

Bustling through the crowds of individual candidate supporters, the activists—accompanied by drums and a megaphone—had four major demands: guaranteed health care for all, $50 billion to fight AIDS around the world, funding for accurate HIV prevention that does not support abstinence-only education and pledges from the candidates to address HIV/AIDS disparities among communities of color.
 
The protestors specifically called on Clinton to detail a domestic AIDS plan.

Waheedah Shabazz-El, an HIV-positive organizer at ACT UPPhiladelphia speaks to the crowd

On Friday, she pledged to commit $50 billion dollars by 2013 to fight AIDS globally. However, AIDS activists point out that Clinton, unlike other candidates such as Obama, Edwards and Governor Bill Richardson, has yet to offer a detailed, comprehensive plan to fight AIDS in the United States.

“She’s been so cautious and not willing to take a stand,” said Housing Works’ spokesperson Diana Scholl. “She needs to release a domestic plan, and she needs to release it now.”

The protestors shed light on the fact that half of HIV-positive people in the United States are without consistent access to health care and treatment. “Unnecessary co-pays will continue to limit people’s ability to access care,” said Jose Demarco, an ACT UP member.

They also pushed candidates to address the fact that people of color make up a quarter of the nation’s population—but account for 70 percent of new HIV infections; meanwhile, 86 percent of babies born with HIV between 2000 and 2004 were African American or Latino. Scholl says that when people talk about AIDS, they need to remember that the epidemic encompasses other important issues. “They need to talk about issues of race and issues of class,” she says.
 
Photos by Diana Scholl