The AIDS Memorial Quilt has grown to 83,279 names
by Lowell Fauver
Columbus The Names Project Central Ohio are the people who display the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Columbus area. The mission is to illustrate the enormity of the AIDS epidemic by showing the humanity behind the statistics through the visual image of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The goals are to
The Quilt was conceived in November of 1985 by longtime San Francisco gay rights activist Cleve Jones.
increase awareness and education of AIDS, particularly of youth, in the Central Ohio area, to offer a creative form of expression, to preserve the memory of those who have died of AIDS and to encourage support funds for
our cause.
The Ohio Department of Health estimates 18,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS in Ohio. The Centers for Disease Control reports over 640,000 cases of HIV or AIDS in the United States, and the Joint U.N. Programme on AIDS estimates 33 million cases worldwide.
The Names Project Central Ohio is a totally volunteer organization and all funds raised go directly to the support of their mission.
The history of the Names Project
In June of 1987, a small group of strangers gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history would neglect. Their goal was to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS, and to thereby help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. This meeting of devoted friends and lovers served as the foundation of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The Quilt was conceived in November of 1985 by longtime San Francisco gay rights activist Cleve Jones. Since the 1978 assassinations of gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, Jones had helped to organize the annual candlelight march honoring these men.
As he was planning for the 1985 march, Jones learned that the number of San Franciscans lost to AIDS had passed the
1,000 mark. He was moved to ask each of his fellow marchers to write on placards the names of friends and loved ones who had died of AIDS. At the end of the march, Jones and others stood on ladders, above the sea of candlelight, taping these placards to the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building. The wall of names looked to Jones like a patchwork quilt.
Inspired by this sight, Jones made plans for a larger memorial. A little over a year later, he created the first panel for the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in memory of his friend Marvin Feldman. In June of 1987, Jones teamed up with several others to formally organize the Names Project Foundation.
On October 11, 1987, the Names Project displayed the Quilt for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during that year's March on Washington. It covered a space larger than a football field and included 1,920 panels. Half a million people visited the Quilt that weekend.
The overwhelming response to the Quilt's inaugural display led to a fourmonth, 20city, national tour for the Quilt in the spring of 1988. More than 9,000 volunteers across the country helped the seven-person traveling crew move and display the Quilt. Local panels were added in each city, tripling the Quilt's size to more than 6,000 panels by the end of the tour.
In 1989 a second Names Project tour of North America brought the Quilt to 19 additional cities in the U.S. and Canada.
By 1992, the AIDS Memorial Quilt included panels from every U.S. state and 28 countries. In October 1992, the entire Quilt returned to Washington, D.C., this time in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
In December of 1999, 1,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt were taken to South Africa on World AIDS Day, to confront the growing rise in AIDS cases in South Africa. It is estimated that 9% of the country's 42 million people are infected with HIV.
As of September of 1999, the Quilt contains 48.82 miles of fabric; in its entirety, the Quilt would cover 17 football fields without walkways and 25 football fields with walkways. Over 83,279 names are presented on the Quilt, which only represents 20% of all U.S. AIDS deaths. Today, the Names Project continues to use the Quilt to end AIDS
For more information on the Names Project of Central Ohio, please call 614-885-3170 or visit the web site, http://www.namescentralohio.org.
Lowell Fauver is the display coordinator of the Names Project Central Ohio.
Miami Valley foundation reaches men of color
by Jerome Haney
Dayton-The AIDS Foundation Miami Valley Men of Color program attempts to reach as many men of color as possible, regardless of their stated sexual orientation, to encourage them to help prevent and reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV by practicing safer sex and reducing or eliminating their high risk behaviors.
AIDS has had a devastating impact on gay and bisexual men of color. Efforts to stop the spread of HIV and slow the progression of the disease among infected individuals have not been as successful among gay men of color as among white gay or bisexual men.
Program activities for men of color include monthly drop-in social and recreational groups where such activities as safer sex negotiation, HIV. counseling and testing, relationships, sex and intimacy are discussed. The program provides educational sessions
of Behavior Change a minimum of four times a week. Men-of-color peer education leaders meet weekly in support groups of 4-5 individuals to foster safer sex behaviors, provide a network of support for safer sex practices, discuss culturally specific issues, current treatment of new medications, distribute safer sex kits, provide "Safe Sex Parties" and distribute literature and brochures. The meetings are held at individual homes and are open to individuals invited into the group by the leaders or the participants.
Monthly general meetings are open to everyone and are held at the most convenient location available. Notification of the general meetings are announced by sending out flyers with the date, time, and place at least seven days before the meeting.
For additional information or participation, e-mail Jerome Haney at jeromehaney@afmv.org, or contact him at 937-461-2437 or 800-519-7888. More in-
to incarcerated men and participants in sub-・ formation on AIDS Foundation Miami Valstance abuse treatment programs and home-ley is available at http://www.afmv.org. less shelters.ENDOLY M3 946
Staff and volunteers provide one-on-one outreach in bars, clubs, and public sex environments using the Transtheoretical Model
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Jerome Haney is a risk reduction educa tor with of Color Program at AIDS Foundation Miami Valley.
November 30, 2001 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
happy hour 5-8 Y $1 off on drinks
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a 21 and over casual contemporary watering hole.
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2927 bridge avenue 216.861.5464
new look, new attitude, new menu.
(with the same old favorites)
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stop in today!
Remembering loved ones during the holidays
DIVERSE Universe
12011 Detroit Ave., Lakewood M-Sat 10-9 Sun 11-6
216-221-GAYS
Two Doors Down from City Dweller!
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5 S. Main Suite 204 Oberlin, Ohio 44074
216-229-2100
12417 Cedar Road Suites 21-24
Cleveland Hts., Ohio 44106
800-938-9973