AIDS Memorial Quilt

04/09/2026

founder Cleve Jones is starting a movement to honor the millions who have died from HIV/AIDS.

June marks 45 years after the CDC’s first account of what would come to be known as HIV/AIDS. During Cleve's Seven Days In June campaign, a 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.

In honor of this momentous occasion, we're offering a $100 for those willing to host the Quilt from June 1-7: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/seven-days-in-june

04/08/2026

🕺 Michael Bennett won seven Tony Awards as a Broadway choreographer and director, bringing his passion for life to the stage.

After took Bennett's life, it was revealed that Bennett left a portion of his estate to fund research to fight the pandemic, striving to prevent others from suffering the way he did. Today would have been Bennett's birthday.

🗣️ Say Michael Bennett's name.

04/08/2026

36 years ago today, Ryan White died of .

When Ryan was 13, he became a household name for fighting national stigma to re-enroll in public school. Shortly after his death, President George H.W. Bush signed the CARE Act, which funds and treatment services for low-income people with HIV.

Ryan White's impact during his 18 short years of life is underscored by the outpouring of panels crafted in his honor.

🗣️ Say Ryan White's name, and learn more about his story: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/post/jeanne-white-ginder

04/04/2026

🎬 Anthony Perkins encapsulated audiences on the screen as the maniacal Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic Psycho.

Off the screen, Perkins worked with Project Angel Food, providing meals for housebound people with HIV while keeping his status secret. In a statement released shortly before his death in September 1992, he said: “There are many who believe that this disease is God’s vengeance, but I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other.”

This panel, made in Perkins's honor, ensures that he will never be forgotten and pays tribute to his incredible acting performance in Psycho. Today would have been Perkins's birthday.

🗣️ Say Anthony Perkins's name!

03/31/2026

Today is , a day to celebrate transgender people and raise awareness of the stigma and hate that the transgender community faces.

The community's resilience is underscored time and time again as the and crisis rages on. Listen to the stories of the activists and advocates who have fought against HIV and the stigma around it in this Surviving Voices mini-documentary:

In 2019, the National AIDS Memorial's Surviving Voices oral history project focused on the transgender community. This short documentary is culled from 17 i...

03/26/2026

Happy Birthday Nancy Pelosi!

The first female Speaker Emerita has been on the front lines in the fight against HIV and AIDS since the beginning of the crisis. Her leadership helped secure the National AIDS Memorial Grove as our nation’s designated memorial to AIDS, and her efforts were instrumental in bringing the back to the Bay Area.

"The National AIDS Memorial sends birthday wishes to our beloved friend and champion!! May all the gifts you have bestowed upon our nation come back to you tenfold!! Your love and support during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis hope and today on your birthday you continue to be a beacon of hope! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" - The National AIDS Memorial team

Watch her speech in the Grove about love, action, and leadership: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anqXcX2aDHg&t=308s

03/20/2026

Peta was a young man who lived with for 12 years, spending most of those years caring for others with AIDS.

Peta's grandmother made this panel in his honor. The panel shows a bird with personal items and feathers, reflecting Peta’s Native American Lakota heritage, where it is believed that all things possess inherent virtue, power, and wisdom. The feather is a powerful symbol that signifies honor and a connection between the owner, the Creator, and the bird from which the feather came. Two poems are also shown on the panel, one of which is “A Lakota Indian Way of Prayer.”

On National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to spread awareness about the impact of the crisis on Native Americans, join us in ensuring that his story and the stories of other Native Americans lost to HIV/AIDS are not forgotten. Learn more about Peta's story and his Quilt panel: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/post/peta-i-gi-chi-wa-i-wa-ka

🗣️ Say Peta I Gi Chi Wa I Wa ka's name.

03/19/2026

🎸 Ricky Wilson was a beloved who captivated the rock world with the .

Wilson largely kept his status a secret from those around him until he died in 1985, just before the release of their fourth album. Bandmate Kate Pierson believes Wilson kept this silent because he "did not want anyone to worry about him or fuss about him." Several panels have been crafted by fans and loved ones, each capturing Wilson's impact on those who knew and listened to him. Today would have been Wilson's birthday.

🗣️ Say Ricky Wilson's name.

03/17/2026

🕺 Regarded as the top male ballet dancer of his generation, Rudolf Nureyev was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer who defected from the Soviet Union despite fierce resistance from the KGB.

His defection was the first of a Soviet artist during the Cold War, and one of the most notable defections during the entirety of the international conflict. Nureyev, who was Stateless from 1961-1982, became an international sensation for his work with The Royal Ballet in London and as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet in the '80s. Today would have been Nureyev's birthday had he not been killed by AIDS.

🗣️ Say Rudolf Nureyev's name!

03/16/2026

"Who knew there’d come a time when people didn’t want to bury their children?”

Ruth Coker Burks was one of the original activists and used her salary as a real estate agent to care for AIDS patients whose families and communities had abandoned them. Because of prejudices, fears, and stigma, she was often the patients' only caregiver until they died.

Join us in wishing Ruth a happy birthday and learn more about her story here: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/post/ruth-coker-burks

03/06/2026

Joshua's life was taken by AIDS when he was just three years old. Today would have been Joshua and Natasha's 36th birthday.

"Joshua lived in Washington, DC—a city being ravaged by the HIV epidemic—but many of his friends lived on Sesame Street, which is a place where a person's (or monster's) color, age, gender, ability, and sexual orientation did not matter. All that mattered was that a person, monster, or bird was surrounded by those who cared and loved for him/her...

"During his life, Joshua was a very loved and a very loving child. He touched scores of hearts and made many friends. He had a special ability to attract caring people, and he continued to make new friends even during his final hospitalization."

Joshua and his twin sister, Natasha were five months old when they were diagnosed with . Natasha did not recover from her initial illness and died shortly thereafter.

In August 1991, their mother, Linda Copeland, was taken to the hospital where AIDS soon took her life. Joshua moved in with Eric Rosenthal and Jeffrey Menzer, a couple whom he met through the Project CHAMP program at Children's Hospital home. The couple formed an incredible bond with Joshua and cherished their time with him before AIDS stole his life from them.

Adorned with some of his favorite characters and toys, the couple crafted this panel and wrote the quoted memorial for Joshua. If AIDS had not taken Joshua’s life, who knows what other hobbies and loves he would have found? If Joshua had died at eighty-three instead of three, perhaps his memorial would be adorned with flowers from college friends, wedding photos, and touching notes from grandchildren.

🗣️ Say Joshua Copeland's name! Say Natasha Copeland's name! Say Linda Copeland's name! Learn more about their story: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/post/joshua-copeland

03/03/2026

🧥 Perry Ellis was voted "best dressed" by his graduating high school class. 20 years later, he changed fashion forever.

Though he worked in the fashion industry for less than a decade, one can walk out onto the streets of New York and see Ellis's influence on today's fashion. Ellis is remembered through an array of panels, which embody Ellis's eclectic style with their range and creativity. An innovator who made fashion accessible, today would have been Perry Ellis's birthday had not taken his life.

🗣️ Say Perry Ellis's name.