Do you like the AIDS Quilt?

Of course you like the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Now you demonstrate that with a simple click of the mouse. Read on …

In October 1992 The Names Project brought the AIDs Quilt to the Washington Mall. Panels of love and remembrance for those who had died from AIDS covered the hill that holds the majestic Washington Monument and then stretched westward down the Mall to the sobering Lincoln Memorial.

The AIDS Quilt on the Washington Mall, October 1992.

It was estimated that more than 200,000 people visited the Mall that weekend! Robert and I, along with a handful of volunteers, manned an exhibit table for our group MARS (Marijuana AIDS Research Service). All of us came away changed. I don’t know that I will ever be in a place again where there was so much love. It was almost palpable.

It was the third time I had seen the Quilt and each time it rocked me to my soul. It is a brilliantly conceived work of art. Part remembrance, part protest, totally love.

I recently had occasion to visit The Names Project website. They maintain the Quilt which, at last count, has 48,000 panels.

As I scrolled through the website I encountered the ubiquitous “Like” button for Facebook. I was shocked to see only 3, 440 had taken the time to “Like” the Quilt. Can we improve on this folks? Please? It doesn’t take much time and it doesn’t cost a cent. The good folks at The Names Project deserve better than this. AIDS may have faded from the spotlight but it is still out there and The Quilt helps keep that fact present in our hearts and minds.

Here is the link: http://www.aidsquilt.org. Just click on the link and you’ll go to the Names Project website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Like” button. And then please ask a friend to do the same.

Thanks.