Michelangelo Signorile

Background: Michelangelo (Mike, as he is called at ACT UP) is a 28 year old white gay man who was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Staten Island. He majored in journalism at Syracuse University, and moved to New York in the mid-1980s. He worked at an entertainment public relations firm that got their clients into gossip columns. He was active in NY nightlife, partly as a way to learn gossip that he could provide to gossip columnists. As he started to grow skeptical of New York nightlife and celebrity culture’s response to the AIDS crisis, he came to ACT UP in 1988.

Role in ACT UP: Michelangelo is the chair of the Media Committee.

Groups/friends at the meeting: Media Committee. He is in a relationship with fellow ACT UPer Gregg Bordowitz.

Specific tasks at the March 13, 1989 meeting: As part of the update on Target City Hall, he is on the agenda to discuss the status of the media strategy:

1. Media response has been extremely favorable

2. There has already been an announcement on ABC radio

3. CBS is doing a six-part series on AIDS in New York City, and ACT UP and Target City Hall will be part of that.

4. On March 22, there will be a big ad for Target City Hall in the Village Voice. On that day, will ACT UP members please call City Hall (212-788-3000) to demand an explanation of what Mayor Koch is (and isn’t) doing?

Additional information: https://actuporalhistory.org/numerical-interviews/029-michelangelo-signorile

https://actuporalhistory.org/actions/target-city-hall at about the 35 minute mark of the ACT UP Pre-Action Meetings video