1980s-90s - Challenges and Triumphs

1980s-90s - Challenges and Triumphs

The nation and world was facing one of the greatest challenges: AIDS. In 1981, the first cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are reported in the New York Times. And, in 1982 the first AIDS case is reported in King County, Washington. The Seattle Gay Clinic sponsors a forum which gives rise to organizations such as the Northwest AIDS Foundation and the Chicken Soup Brigade.

Seattle’s early, diverse, and progressive response to the epidemic may have been the result of the coalitions, connections and clout built only half a decade earlier during the Initiative 13 battle. In the response to the AIDS epidemic, organizations like the Northwest AIDS Foundation pursued the more mainstream channels of the Citizens to Retain Fair Employment, while groups like ACT UP followed the more confrontational footsteps of SSCAT and Women Against Thirteen.

Seattle's chapter of ACT UP was founded in 1989, two years after The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) was founded by Larry Kramer in New York City. ACT UP's radical style ushered in a new era of direct action political activism in the gay and lesbian community.

Bailey-Boushay House is America's first skilled nursing facility that was planned, funded, built and staffed to meet the needs of people living with AIDS. In 1988, a group of concerned citizens formed AIDS Housing of Washington, which planned, funded and built the 34,000-square-foot facility that opened in 1992.

Perhaps the most representative of the gains fought and won, is Lambert House. The nation’s first drop-in center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, Lambert House opened with a youth dance on Pride Day, June 30, 1991.

Seattle, WA: Queen City Comes Out: Exploring Seattle's Lesbian and Gay History