National Aids Memorial Inc

BY SHARING THE STORY OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST HIV/AIDS, WE REMEMBER, IN PERPETUITY, THE LIVES LOST, WE OFFER HEALING AND HOPE TO SURVIVORS AND WE INSPIRE GENERATIONS OF ACTIVISTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST STIGMA, DENIAL, AND HATE, FOR A JUST FUTURE.

CHANGE THE PATTERN THE NATIONAL AIDS MEMORIAL LAUNCHED THE CHANGE THE PATTERN PROGRAM TO MEET THE INCREASE NUMBER OF CASES OF HIV/AIDS WITHIN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. THE PROGRAM FEATURED THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT AS THE CENTRAL PART AROUND WHICH PROGRAMMING, AND COMMUNITY ACTIVATIONS WERE CREATED. THE PROGRAM BROUGHT COMMUNITY MEMBERS TOGETHER THROUGH 1) PANEL MAKING WORKSHOPS 2) COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND TOWN HALLS 3) QUILT EXHIBITIONS AND IN SO DOING OPENED CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT IS DRIVING THE INCREASING CASES. THE PROGRAM ALSO PROVIDED GRANTS TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS DELIVERING SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, THE PROGRAM FOCUSED EFFORTS TOWARD YOUTH ON HBCU CAMPUSES AND PROVIDED SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE WORK BEING DONE BY THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE SOUTH. THIS INITIATIVE VISITED 15+ COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCING HIGH RATES OF INFECTION AS WELL AS CHALLENGES ACCESSING CRITICAL CARE. THE PROJECT FOCUSED ON INCREASING THE REPRESENTATION OF PERSONS OF COLOR IN THE QUILT AND AS A RESULT NEARLY 300 NEW PANELS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. WORKING TO "CHANGE THE PATTERN" OF INFECTIONS IN THE SOUTHERN U.S. WILL BE CRITICAL TO ENDING THE AIDS PANDEMIC.

THE QUILT, STARTED IN 1981, IS AN EPIC, 54-TON TAPESTRY THAT INCLUDES OVER 50,000 PANELS DEDICATED TO MORE THAN 105,000 INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED FROM AIDS. RECOGNIZED AROUND THE GLOBE, IT IS AN ICONIC SYMBOL OF THE AIDS PANDEMIC AND AIDS ACTIVISIM. SECTIONS OF THE QUILT ARE CONTINUOUSLY ON DISPLAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN SCHOOLS, CHURCHES COMMUNITY CENTERS, BUSINESSES, CORPORATIONS, AND VARIETY OF OTHER INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS. MORE THAN 15 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE VIEWED IT'S PANELS AT THOUSANDS OF DISPLAYS OVER THE PAST 35 YEARS. OUR CALL MY NAME PANEL MAKING PROGRAM ENSURES THAT STORIES OF BLACK AND BROWN LIVES LOST TO HIV/AIDS ARE HONORED WITH PANELS ON THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT AND REFLECTS THE EPIDEMIC'S IMPACT ON COMMUNITY OF COLOR.

CENTER PROJECT - THE NATIONAL AIDS MEMOIRAL IS ENTERING A KEY PHASE OF PLANNING FOR THE CENTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ("THE CENTER"), A NEW CULTURAL INSTITUTION THAT WILL SHOWCASE THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT AND HOST EXHIBITIONS ON THE HISTORY OF HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC, SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS, AND IMPORTANT MODERN-DAY ISSUSES. THE CENTER WILL BE THE PERMANENT HOME OF OUR NATION'S ICONIC AND WORLD-RENOWNED AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT, WHICH TODAY HAS GROWN TO 50,000+ PANELS AND WEIGHS TONS, TO ENSURE ITS CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, THE ARCHITECTUARALLY SIGNIFICANT, 80,000+ SQ. FT BUILDING WILL BE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO, AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS AND ADVOCACY FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. THE CENTER WILL ENSURE THAT THE COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF HIV/AIDS IS PERSERVED FOREVER AND USED TO TEACH, LEARN, INSPIRE, AND HONOR - SO HISTORY IS NOT REPEATED, BUT LEVERAGED TO SHAPE A MORE EQUITABLE FUTURE FOR ALL PEOPLE.