Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt

ATLANTA, GA, Aug. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National AIDS Memorial is bringing portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to communities across the southern United States to recognize and honor Blacks and Browns and lives lost to HIV and AIDS as part of it Change the patterna new initiative to reconsider the response to the epidemic in the region.

In partnership with the Southern AIDS Coalition, the multi-city initiative will identify opportunities for action and support communities fighting the southern epidemic. Supported by a $2.4 million grant from Gilead Sciences, Change the pattern will focus on reaching, engaging and sharing the experiences of marginalized communities disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. The program provides an opportunity for learning through immersive quilt displays, educational programs, advocacy and quilt making.

“The National AIDS Memorial is honored to work with the Southern AIDS Coalition and Gilead Sciences to bring the quilt to the South as a touchstone to actively engage communities most affected by HIV/AIDS,” said CEO John Cunningham. “By creating an empowering message and safe spaces for conversation, we can uplift, inspire and make progress towards ending the HIV epidemic, challenge cultural stigma and continue the advocacy legacy that the quilt represents.”

The first major Change the pattern The Quilt Show will be held in Jackson, Mississippi from September 28th to October 4th with a week of free events and programs that will draw multi-generational audiences for community activities and fellowship. More than 500 hand-sewn quilt panels, many locally sourced, will be on display for the first time at various locations in Jackson and the surrounding community. It will be the largest display of the AIDS memorial quilt ever in the state.

Accompanying the quilt exhibitions are powerfully curated stories telling of love, memory, pain and celebration sewn into quilt panels of lives passed through…