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The NAMES Project Memorial Quilt

ETC Magazine cover -- "The Names Project in Atlanta Memorial Day Weekend" Vol. 4 No.21

ETC Magazine cover -- "The Names Project in Atlanta Memorial Day Weekend" Vol. 4 No.21 

Program -- The Names Project National Tour

Program -- The Names Project National Tour

Flyer -- Names Project Inaugural Display

Flyer -- Names Project Inaugural Display

Invitation -- "Vigil In Remembrance of the NAMES Project"

Invitation -- "Vigil In Remembrance of the NAMES Project"

Program -- "Remember Their Names. The NAMES Project Quilt"

Program -- "Remember Their Names. The NAMES Project Quilt" 

The brainchild of San Francisco writer and activist Cleve Jones, the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt made its debut in 1987. The Quilt provided a way for friends and survivors to grieve and memorialize their loved ones, and the public display of the Quilt provided a powerful reminder of the scope of the disease. The Quilt was first laid out in full at the National Mall during the 1987 National March on Washington. In 1997, the Quilt was moved to Washinton, D.C., and in 2001, it was relocated to Atlanta, GA.


"Cleve Jones wanted the Quilt to be a weapon. A weapon that said, “we are going to break the barriers of stigma; we’re going to fight homophobia.” In ’87, bearing witness to that display was a remarkable moment. Two thousand panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt arrived on the National Mall where they were not welcome, and they provided visual evidence that [these people] were actually loved by moms and dads, by heterosexuals no less."
Julie Rhoad, August 12, 2019

"Each of the panels are three foot by six foot, and that was to mimic the size of a human grave. Because at the time, no funds or even attention was being given to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the idea that Cleve had was, “here is our dead we lay at your feet”, and so we laid it on the Mall in Washington, so that no one could say this was not happening."
Roddy Williams, August 31, 2018

Button -- "Common Threads, The Names Project Quilt"

Button -- "Common Threads, The Names Project Quilt" 

Newspaper clipping -- "Keeper of the Quilt: For Seamstress Gert McMullin, home is where the AIDS Memorial Quilt is."

Newspaper clipping -- "Keeper of the Quilt: For Seamstress Gert McMullin, home is where the AIDS Memorial Quilt is." 

Newspaper clipping -- "March: Georgia group does tomahawk chop"

Newspaper clipping -- "March: Georgia group does tomahawk chop"

Photograph -- AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C.

Photograph -- AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C.

photograph -- People holding hands over the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C.

Photograph -- People holding hands over the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C.

Button -- "The Names Project"

Button -- "The Names Project"

Flyer -- Names Project Inaugural Display

Flyer -- Names Project Inaugural Display

Invitation -- "Vigil In Remembrance of the NAMES Project"

Invitation -- "Vigil In Remembrance of the NAMES Project"

← ACT UP
Reagan’s Response →
HIV/AIDS
The NAMES Project Memorial Quilt

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