45 years after the CDC’s first account of what would come to be known as HIV/AIDS, millions have died across the world. They died not only because of the disease itself, but also due to the prejudice and lack of action taken against HIV/AIDS. This inaction and hatred stem from the initial demographics of those impacted.
During the Seven Days In June week-long, nationwide series of actions from June 1–7, you can honor those we’ve lost to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and raise awareness about the impact of health cuts and inaction by hosting the AIDS Memorial Quilt in your community.
Here’s how to request the AIDS Memorial Quilt -- Simply follow these steps to host an In-Person Quilt Community Display. Sign up to host the Quilt from June 1-7 and receive a $100 discount off your order:
1. Learn about Quilt display requirements.
2. Complete the registration form and sign up before 5/4/26.
3. See the TOOLKIT for more resources.
The Quilt was conceived in November of 1985 by long-time human rights activist, author, and lecturer Cleve Jones. Since the 1978 assassinations of gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, Jones had helped organize the annual candlelight march honoring these men.
While planning the 1985 march, he learned that over 1,000 San Franciscans had been lost to AIDS. He asked each of his fellow marchers to write on placards the names of friends and loved ones who had died of AIDS. At the end of the march, Jones and others stood on ladders taping these placards to the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building. The wall of names looked like a patchwork quilt. Inspired by this sight, Jones and friends made plans for a larger memorial, which has grown into the 50,000+ panel AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The Quilt provides an important symbol of hope, healing, activism, and remembrance as the AIDS crisis moves throughout its fourth decade. Each Quilt display shares the names and heartfelt stories of loved ones lost to AIDS. Nearly 110,000 names are sewn into the 54 tons of its fabric.
Today, the National AIDS Memorial is the steward of the entire Quilt and all 50,000 panels are located in San Francisco. The Quilt can be viewed online at www.aidsmemorial.org/quilt and visitors can search for names on the Quilt and see where sections of it are being displayed, sharing its power and beauty, and helping change hearts and minds.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt on the Mayor’s Balcony, San Francisco City Hall 1987
Marc Geller
Courtesy of the National AIDS Memorial
The Quilt’s activist beginnings inspire how the Quilt is still used to speak up for those who do not have a voice to speak up for themselves. Host the Quilt to ensure that lives lost to HIV/AIDS, and the stigma, denial, and hate that catalyzed their deaths, will not be forgotten.