Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South

Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South tells the untold story of ACT UP Shreveport - one of the smallest, fiercest AIDS activist chapters in America.

In the heart of Louisiana, far from the media centers of New York and San Francisco, a handful of ordinary citizens waged an extraordinary battle. They fought against hospitals that turned away patients, churches that preached judgment instead of mercy, and politicians who refused to listen. In a city that wasn't supposed to have a movement, they created one anyway.

This powerful narrative weaves together personal testimonies, historical records, and first-hand interviews drawn from the award-winning documentary of the same name. Through these voices, Small Town Rage captures the courage, grief, humor, and resilience of those who dared to demand dignity in the Deep South.

Led by figures like Chuck Selber, Deborah Allen, Robert "Bobby" Darrow, Joe DeSantis, and others, ACT UP Shreveport's defiance helped change the face of Southern HIV/AIDS response and gave birth to The Philadelphia Center - one of Louisiana's most vital HIV service organizations.

Dr. David W. Hylan's work honors their legacy while exposing the hypocrisy and hostility they faced. With unflinching honesty and lyrical storytelling, Small Town Rage reveals how a group of marginalized voices forced an entire region to confront its silence - and, in doing so, helped change the national conversation about compassion, healthcare, and equality.

At once intimate and historical, this book stands as both remembrance and reckoning-a tribute to those who fought back when no one else would.