The National AIDS Memorial has a mission to inspire new generations of activists in the fight against stigma, denial, and hate for a just future. Through the AIDS Memorial Quilt, we work with students across the country to share the power of artwork and activism with future leaders.
Presentation High School is an all-girls school in San Jose that has been empowering smart, creative, and confident young women to become advocates and leaders for 60 years. Working with Christine Jimenez, the school's Director of Library Information Services, students had the opportunity to visit the AIDS Quilt Warehouse and engage with the Quilt in their school.
Visiting the AIDS Memorial Quilt
Jimenez and a dozen of her students drove from San Jose to San Leandro to visit the Quilt and hear about its impact from our team.
“It should be called the ‘AIDS Quilt Museum,’ not the ‘AIDS Quilt Warehouse,” Jimenez said about her experience taking students to see the Quilt. “The girls were very chatty the whole morning, but as soon as Roddy (Williams) started talking about the panels and what they represent, they went silent.”
Considered the world’s largest community arts project, the AIDS Quilt allows individuals and groups to honor, remember, and celebrate the stories and lives of those lost to HIV and AIDS. Each panel that students from Presentation saw represents a life and a story lost to the ongoing crisis.
Taking the Power of the Quilt to Presentation
Presentation also hosted sections of the Quilt in their school for their community to see. “We created a sacred space for them here in the library,” Jimenez explained. “Students and teachers and faculty would come into the library and just stand quietly in front of them, reading the stories and taking it all in.”
Students saw how the Quilt used the power of art and storytelling to honor lives and speak out against injustices, and began to engage with the Quilt on a much deeper level. A group of students wanted to make their own smaller version of the Quilt to honor LGBTQ+ individuals who died, many of whom passed away from violence and hate crimes. “They came to me and said, ‘We want to do this, but we don’t know how.’ I showed them how to sew, and another faculty member brought in their sewing machine and showed them how to use it.”
Inspired by the AIDS Quilt, they used their activism, artwork, and storytelling to honor lives lost to injustice.
Bring the Quilt to Your Community
Like Presentation High School, you too can bring the AIDS Quilt to your community!
In today’s world of health and social justice turmoil, community displays are more important than ever. Quilt displays help support local HIV and AIDS service organizations, LGBTQ+ centers, and raise awareness about the issues of health and social justice.
“I highly recommend it,” Jimenez said about bringing the Quilt to Presentation, “and you know what I want to do it again next year.”
