The Historical Frame

What happened, when, to whom. The chronological spine of the decade — political, economic, epidemiological, technological. Year-by-year where useful; topic-by-topic where the topic has its own arc.

The decade taken one event at a time — the crises inherited and made, the epidemic and its treatment, the recessions, the ruptures of race and class.

The Decade in Events and Forces

2.1What a Literate Person Would Know, 1989–2001
2.2Year Zero: November 1989
2.3The Inherited Crisis, 1981–1989
2.4The Geography of AIDS New York
2.5The Institutions, 1982–1995
2.6The Peak Years, 1989–1992
2.7The Cultural Casualties, 1989–1995
2.8The Activism, 1987–1995
2.9The Later Peak, 1993–1995
2.10The Treatment Revolution, 1995–1996
2.11The Aftermath, 1996–2001
2.12The Selective Record, 1989–2001
2.13Healthcare Beyond AIDS, 1989–2001
2.14The 1990–91 Recession: What It Felt Like in Midtown
2.15Political Events as Class Ruptures, 1991–2001
2.16Race: Beyond the Comfortable Framings
2.17The Korean Greengrocer and the Red Apple Boycott, 1990
2.18The Happy Land Fire, March 25, 1990
2.19Labor: Unions, Strikes, and the Dying Garment District, 1989–2001
2.20The Fourth Wave, 1989–2001
2.21Immigration Beyond the Eastern Bloc, 1989–2001
2.22The Pre-9/11 Mood: What 2000–2001 Actually Felt Like