Newspaper Page Text
KAY LOVE
SOUTHERN
vOCE
Vol. 1, No. 14 Taking Pride in Our Culture
7
National
September 1,1988
ACT UP/ATL Joins Nationwide Protests; "ZAPS" Circle K
Atlanta-AJDS and gay/lesbian groups here
and nationwide have characterized the Circle
K company as an "outlaw corporation" due to
the reversal of the company's pledge to
negotiate their AIDS-phobic insurance policy.
The policy, which uses "personal lifestyle" as
a consideration of coverage, was scheduled to
be implemented August 1st before it attracted
negative press coverage. Although company
officials pledged to re-examine the policy and
extend the implementation of the policy until
September 1st, civil libertarians were
infuriated by the door that was slammed in
their face. The AIDS Coalition To Unleash
Power/Atlanta (ACT UP/Atl) joined other
direct action groups Saturday and targeted
Circle K convenience stores in the metro area
for boisterous protests and "buy-ins," in
addition to calling for a total boycott of the
chain.
Led by project coordinator Linda
Meredith, ACT UP/Aii staged a three-nour
long protest Saturday at two Circle K stores,
one on Defoors Ferry Road, the other on
Buford Highway. ACT UP's strategy
consisted of sending caravans of vehicles to
the stores, each to buy less than one dollar's
worth of gasoline. Members paid for their
purchases, most were 11 cents, with large
denomination bills, in the hope that a lack of
change would hamper the store's operations.
A secondary strategy was to flood the stores
with pennies. Meredith stated that the "zap"
was intended to "keep up the pressure” while
corporate executives examined the insurance
policy.
Approximately 24 people participated in
last Saturday's action. The plan to close down
the stores succeeded, as clerks at both
locations were forced to shut off the gas
pumps. Only one bystander complained about
the gas pump "zap" and the picketers. The
woman's main complaint, apparently, was that
the caravan blocked her way. "Nobody else
was upset," said participant Rich Jones.
"Almost everyone we spoke with left the store
without buying anything."
The police response to the two actions
varied widely. Fulton County officers who
responded to the call from the Defoors Ferry
location were polite and professional, and
focused on enforcing the law. DeKalb County
officers, on the other hand, were obviously
upset that the "peace" had been broken.
"They were just hunting for a reason to
arrest somebody," said one bystander.
Meredith agreed, and added that the officer in
charge would not explain why, or what laws
were being broken when he threatened to
arrest the group. ACT UP took the officer's
badge number, and is currently considering
options for filing formal complaints.
The boycott, though not favored by some
other groups, began Saturday. Leaflets passed
out to passers-by proclaimed the policy to be
"inhumane... ridiculous and unfair," and
urged people to call district offices in Atlanta
Cont'd Page 3
ACT UP/Atlanta targeted the Circle K store on DeFoors Ferry Rd. as part of a nationwide protest against the corporation's
AIDS-phobic insurance policy. Members picketed and disrupted business for over an hour.
Money for AIDS Drug Running Out
Atlanta-Money to help AIDS patients pay
for the drug AZT is running out in Georgia
and across the country.
In Georgia, about 130 persons with AIDS
(PWAs) are receiving AZT as part of the
program enacted by Congress last summer.
The program, which gave money to the states
to help patients who could not afford the
$8,0(X)-a-year treatment, is scheduled to
expire September 30,1988.
AZT is the only drug known to prolong
life for some AIDS patients. Half of the 130
PWAs participating in the program in this
area receive AZT through Grady Hospital.
Grady officials say they will continue to
prescribe and provide AZT when it's
medically indicated. According to Curtis
Morris, program administrator of Grady's
Infectious Disease Clinic, the hospital is
"treating AZT just like any other drug."
Grady spokesman Jim Driscoll declined to
specify how and for how long the financially-
strained hospital would pay for AZT, saying
only that "Current plans are to continue
giving AZT as long as we can."
Grady's quality of care in other areas,
including the AIDS clinic, could decline as
the hospital takes out money to buy AZT,
according to Gil Robison of the Georgia
AIDS Legislative Coalition. His organization
is working with state agencies as they prepare
their budget requests for next year.
But there's little hope that money will be
made available in time to take the place of the
federal grant
Dr. Joseph Wilber, state Department of
Human Resources medical consultant on
AIDS, estimates that the federal money could
last until the middle of October, and says he
thinks Grady might be able to provide AZT
through the end of the year. But that still
leaves more than 60 patients who are outside
Grady’s Fulton/DeKalb area, or who have
private physicians and don't qualify for help
from the hospital, to fend for themselves.
Wilber said DHR has contacted the governor
and has been told that the state has no money
for AZT. According to Wilber, the governor
said this a part of a bigger problem, one
affecting the 15 per cent of the population
under 65 who have no health insurance, and
simply cannot afford to be sick.
In Wilber’s estimate, SI million would be
necessary to provide AZT to the needy in the
upcoming year, and he adds, "I don't see
where we can get it"
-F.G.