1987 AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall

1987 AIDS Memorial Quilt display on the National Mall west of 7th Street

Los Angeles Public Library

Quick Facts

Location:

National Mall west of 7th Street

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The largest quilt in the world, now weighing in at 54 tons spanning over 1.2 million square feet, began with sincere but humble efforts to memorialize loved ones lost to an epidemic which devastated communities across the United States.

Two years before it would be displayed in Washington DC, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was born in San Fransico, California in 1985. Its architect was Cleve Jones, a long-time human rights activist, author, and lecturer. While planning an annual remembrance march for Harvey Milk, Jones learned that over 1000 San Franciscans had been lost to AIDS. He asked fellow organizers and march participants to write down the names of loved ones lost on placards, which were then taped to the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building. The display reminded folks of a patchwork quilt and inspired the project.

One year later, a small group of strangers came together in San Francisco to document the lives of their friends and loved ones. Faced with inaction from society at large, they feared history would neglect their names and their unique stories. They wanted to create a memorial for those who had died from AIDS to help people understand the profound losses felt across communities. Cleve Jones created the very first panel for the quilt in memory of his friend Marvin Feldman.

Public response to the project was immediate. The National AIDS Memorial website said that “People in the U.S. cities most affected by AIDS — Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco — sent panels to the San Francisco workshop. Generous donors rapidly supplied sewing machines, equipment and other materials, and many volunteered tirelessly.”

All of the hard work and long hours culminated on October 11, 1987, during the second National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights. In just one year, the quilt had grown to include 1,920 unique panels. Sections of the quilt were unfolded at sunrise as celebrities, politicians, families, lovers, and friends read each of the represented names aloud, a tradition that would continue throughout the projects displays. That weekend, over half a million people visited the Quilt.

The overwhelming support in it’s its inaugural display kicked off a four-month national tour of the Quilt in the spring and summer of 1988. The tour helped raise funds and awareness for hundreds of AIDS service organizations. More than 9,000 volunteers helped move the quilt across the country from city to city. By the end of the tour, the quilt had tripled in size to over 6,000 panels.

Reflection Question
 It’s important to us humans to feel known and remembered, in life and in death. Open your contacts list on your phone. Who knows you best? Who would you trust to write your obituary?