Dead Man Protesting!
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Body Of D.C. ACT-UP’s Steve Michael Will Join Medical Marijuana Protest At
White House
(Ed. note: What a way to go! Steve was not
always easy to work with, but he comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. It
will be interesting to see if the Washington Post covers this. I am not planning on
going anytime soon, but when I do, I would like to have my casket rolled by the Post with
my middle finger sticking out. I didn’t say that.)
Activist hold s last protest after death
WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) - A Washington, D.C., AIDS activist is
set to hold his final protest, more than a week after he died of AIDS- related illnesses.
In fulfillment of his dying wish, Steve Michael’s body will be marched to
Lafayette Park in front of the White House for a memorial service at 12:30 p.m. today
meant to draw attention to President Clinton’s AIDS policies.
Michael is remembered for his two symbolic presidential runs and for reviving the
Washington chapter of ACT UP, an AIDS activist group.
He died May 25 at the age of 42, after spending one month in the intensive care unit at
the Washington Hospital Center.
His partner, Wayne Turner, said Michael wanted to use his illness
to highlight the pain of AIDS wasting syndrome and AIDS patients’ need for access to
medicinal marijuana.
Michael spearheaded two ballot initiatives in Washington to legalize medicinal uses of
marijuana.
But the two men spent most of the last seven years following Clinton’s campaign
trails and pressuring him in television advertisements and protests to follow through on
promises to establish a large-scale project to find an AIDS cure.
ACT UP, which stands for AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, plans to bring busloads of
activists from New York and Philadelphia for the memorial. Michael’s mother, Barbara
Michael, is coming from California for the service.
Copyright 1998 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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