Health
aids memorial quilt founders host workshops to raise awareness about hiv/aids in the black community
Over the last three decades, one of the most powerful visual representations of the HIV/AIDs epidemic has been The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. A literal memorial quilt created with panels made by the friends and loved ones of people who have lost their lives to AIDs-related complications. The breathtaking project has been displayed across the country in effort to raise awareness about the scope of the AIDs pandemic, raise money, and offer support and healing to those affected by the virus.
Now headquartered in Atlanta, a city facing an AIDs epidemic, particularly in black communities, The NAMES Project Foundation has created the Call My Name Workshop Program—a program designed to “collect and display greater numbers of panels that reflect the epidemic’s impact within the African-American community. As a result, Quilt prevention, education and awareness programs have a greater capacity to deliver even more cultural relevance and provide poignant personal connections for African American men, women and children visiting who see it.”
By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor
The Quilt on display at The Mall in Washington, D.C.
*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.
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