In Memoriam: Michael Wright

Michael Wright, who made immense contributions to AIDS
treatment activism in San Francisco and elsewhere, died on
January 14. His influence was not only through specific
projects, including greatly increasing patient access to the
critical antibiotic clarithromycin, but also through personal
leadership which guided and welcomed a new generation of
activists. Michael also was a major channel for communication
among treatment activists in different cities.

On the evening of January 14, more than 50 people gathered
at ACT UP/Golden Gate in San Francisco, for a spontaneous
memorial service for Michael. Others met in New York and
elsewhere. The following is from a statement by one of Michael's
closest friends and associates which was distributed at the San
Francisco meeting.

Michael Wright by G'dali Braverman

It was the week after the VIth International Conference on
AIDS and 150 men and women packed a second floor room in the
Women's Building for an ACT UP/San Francisco meeting. There were
twice as many first timers at that meeting than there were old
members. I perched myself on the bar off in the back of the room
and watched the evening unfold. There amongst the new faces were
a set of sparkling green eyes. Those eyes fixed themselves on me
that evening, and they are burned into my memory today as they
will be until the day that I die. Michael picked me that night to
be his conduit into a new life as an AIDS activist. That choice
changed my life and the lives of People with AIDS/HIV on this
globe; not because of my knowledge or influence, but because of
Michael's eagerness to take my knowledge and influence places
where I could never have reached. Today I have lost my first and
closest ally and friend in San Francisco. The AIDS community has
lost a man who over the course of one and a half years has made
an impact on AIDS treatment access and research that few would
have thought possible from a relative newcomer to AIDS activism.

Michael Wright was a cofounder of ACT UP/Golden Gate, an
organization that he was both proud of and frustrated with. His
investment of time, energy, and love into that organization over
the course of its first year has unquestionably served to bring
credibility and respect to ACT UP nationally amongst researchers,
elected officials, activists, and people with AIDS/HIV. Because
of his work on opportunistic infections, the lives of thousands
of people will be extended and improved....

Last night I went to visit Michael in the hospital and he
told me that he was worried about me. What a control queen! He
knew he was dying, but he wanted to make sure that I assessed my
life and not his death. Before I left Michael, he told me that
he had no regrets. I wish that resolution should be true for all
of us as we continue to fight AIDS on our own behalf and on
behalf of Michael and the few that have gone before him, that
fought with the same spirit, for all of us still living through
this horrible war.

Note: A memorial service for Michael Wright will be held
February 1 at 2:00 at the Metropolitan Community Church, 150
Eureka Street, San Francisco. Contributions in his name can be
sent to either ACT UP/Golden Gate, P. O. Box 519, San Francisco,
CA 94114, or to Project Inform, 1965 Market Street, Suite 220,
San Francisco, CA 94103-1012.