Names Project/AIDS Quilt in Atlanta

Written by Nicole Bellovin, Mariel Liebeskind, and Hannah Walcoe

Nikki, Mariel, and Hannah in front of a panel of the AIDS Quilt

The first panel was made for Marvin Feldman who died in 1986

We just visited the Names Project in Atlanta, Georgia. It commemerates the death of those who lost their lives from AIDS . The project is a giant quilt that consists of of pieces created by the loved ones of those who lost their lives in the fight against AIDS and HIV. There are no restrictions on how you can be a part of the project. You can create a peice of the quilt in any way that you would like to represent the person has passed on.

This project stands out in many ways. These quilts are a celebration, remembrance, and way to honor the life of a person before AIDS. This is important because AIDS is an issue that is still taking lives today. It can cause one to be impoverished because of the cost of the medicine used to maintain a healthy life with AIDS. We learned about how AIDS affects every aspect of your life, from where you live, to how you spend your daily life. We also discussed how to prevent AIDS. We learned about how lucky we are to be educated about not just AIDs, but means of protection against it.

This project related to Judiasm in many ways. We discussed how when the disease first came out, it was mainly found in the gay community. We spoke about how Reform Judiasm are allies to the gay and lesbian community. We also discussed how AIDS did not descriminate on who it affected, it made people of all different ways of life and religions sick, which included Judaism. The project also started by the commemeration of a Jewish man who passed away because of the disease.