Right up until his death on Wednesday, Larry Kramer was a force. The founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis and ACT UP fostered a relentless drive for accountability — from government, pharmaceutical companies, the Catholic Church — on HIV and AIDS; his confrontational tactics would change the public's perception of the disease and force progress.
Nearly 40 years after a "gay cancer" was first identified, HIV is no longer a death sentence but a chronic, manageable condition.