in New York, he worked at the National AIDS Hotline Office in Manhattan. In 1987, Alderson was a founding member of ACT UP, and one of "only a handful of people of color" in the early years. At ACT UP meetings, he was vocal about issues related to people of color and poverty. Together with Robert Vazquez-Pacheco and Robert Garcia, Alderson established the Majority Action Committee (MAC), so named to remind the broader group that the majority of HIV and AIDS cases in the city were people of color. Respected as a "radical elder" and "militant queen" who was always willing to get arrested, Alderson was involved in organizing numerous demonstrations and actions, including sit-ins.
