And The Band Played On

Shilts consistently updates the narrative with the number of infected and killed by AIDS. But rather than leaving this information as data, he gives the statistics faces with stories. One of the most notable of these is Gary Walsh, whose acceptance of his death and his role liberates him: “I am love and light, and I transform people by just being who I am” (425).

Shilts shows that even in death, there is a beauty and freedom. When Bill Kraus waits in Lourdes at a grotto, next to the statue of the Virgin Mary, he comes to feel love and forgiveness: “he stared toward the Virgin, and began to see her as the archetypal mother, not the literal mother of God, but the source of all nourishment and hope” (538).

Death in this book is both the result of a series of mistakes in judgment and action, but it also serves as a symbol of relief from all worldly anxiety and fear. 

From the early chapters, the importance of public gathering for the gay community in the form of marches, parades, and protests is made clear. These marches are a way to be heard and seen and a show of strength and solidarity, especially before social media.