Summary

In Lesson #16: There’s No Preparing for Every Circle of Hell, ACT UP enacted its first disruptive demonstration. The activists gathered at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street and charged the street, stopping oncoming cars until all traffic was halted. Trey sat with Peter and Eduardo but stood when he saw Helena and “a group of white men pulling a long rope to hoist a mannequin dressed in a cheap suit into the air beneath a streetlamp” (227). Helena explained their plan to set it on fire and Trey knew that the image of a burning mannequin would create fear which was contrary to ACT UP’s goals. If the demonstrators were perceived as violent the police and the public would squash their message. Shortly after the protest began, police...