A Time to Remember

Did you know that since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.7 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 550,000 have died of AIDS?

*Data from American Foundation for AIDS Research http://amfar.org/abouthiv/article.aspx?id=3590

While the United States has come a long way in the fight against HIV/AIDS, I feel like there is still a lot of work to be done.  The ultimate goal is to eventually rid the world of HIV/AIDS.  Having said that, I think that it is important to take a look back in order to remember and honor those who have been lost to HIV/AIDS.                                                                                                                                       

The NAMES Project Foundation’s AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C.

Recently, the AIDS Memorial Quilt came to Boulder and was on display in the Norlin Quad.  The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest currently operational community art venture in the US.  Almost every one of the more than 40,000 panels that make up “the Quilt” lays tribute to the life of a person lost to AIDS.  It is significant in its attempt to provide an avenue that creates awareness through honoring those lost to AIDS. 

Their story:

In 1978 San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were killed because they were homosexual.  In response, to the atrocity a man named Cleve Jones helped to organize a candlelight march in their honor.  As a part of the march Jones asked the participants to write on posters the names of those close to them who had died of AIDS. These posters were then taped to the San Francisco Federal Building creating the appearance of what looked like a patchwork quilt.

The very first panel created by Jones to honor his friend Marvin Feldman

This inspired Jones to team up with others in order to create a larger and more permanent memorial.  Public response to the project was enormous, and with the help of volunteers and donors the Quilt was created in a San Francisco workshop. 

Tours to display the quilt began in October of 1987 and to date have raised over $3 Million for AIDS service organizations around North America. 

Click here to see a video of the presentation of the quilt!

The Quilt was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and a documentary about it "Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt" won the Academy Award for best feature length documentary. 

Locally, BCAP’s own Dan Hanley is creating an online archive dedicated to the memories of those lost to HIV/AIDS.  The goal of the Remember Project http://www.rememberproject.org/ is to enrich our collective memory and to help to erase any stigmas surrounding the disease. 

Take a minute out of your day to lay tribute to those who have been lost to HIV/AIDS.
By Taylor Petersen