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Remembering Their Names: The Quilt Returns to D.C
CHRIS DUNCAN
Thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial after a candlelight march that
began at the site of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt Park police
estimated the 20-block crowd at 8,600 people.
Maijoric Eicher stood on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial staring out at the sea of
candles competing with the glow of the
Washington Monument in the dark reflecting
pool, and cried. She was the rule rather than
the exception as thousands gathered for the
Candlelight March Against AIDS the first
evening of the NAMES Project Quilt's return
to Washington, D.C.
She, her husband, and their 39 year old
gay-activist son had traveled from Sarasota,
Fla to see the gigantic quilt that contained a
panel made for her son's buddy, who had died
earlier this year. Eicher was first introduced to
the AIDS memorial when her son loaned her
a copy of The Quilt, the official recording of
the Quilt's first trip to D.C.
"I read the book, and I just found myself
weeping constantly throughout it," she said.
"It was the same feeling I had when I first saw
the Vietnam Memorial-all the names, all the
lives, all the waste-and it really moves me to
tears."
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial
Quilt contains 8,228 grave-size panels, plus
some 100 last minute additions that were
brought to the display by friends and lovers.
Remember their names is the
quiet command of the Quilt. It
echoes through you when you
step on the white canvass
walkways. Remember their
names, call their names-paste
their names on the stark numbers
you hear everyday.
Cleve Jones, Quilt creator and NAMES
Project executive director, sadly pointed out,
however, that each panel represents some four
other people who have no display in the
mobile AIDS memorial.
The Quilt returned to Washington October
8th & 9th, one year after its inaugural unfold
ing during the National March on Wash
ington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The Quilt
contained less than 2,000 panels at that time.
The purpose of the Quilt, according to
Jones, is to put the humanity back into the
horrendous AIDS-mortality figures. In an age
that commonly discusses matters involving
numbers in the billions and trillions, a number
like 42,142 sounds insignificant. Until, that is,
you put the names beside every statistic.
As the first touch of daylight began to
wake up the city Saturday morning, Jones
began the litany of names that would end 11
hours later. He stood with the White House
behind him, and began the roll call of the
dead which has never been fully
acknowledged by the man on whose front
lawn he was standing.
The Quilt is both awe-inspiring and over
whelming with the brutal force of the energy
it exudes. Once out among the panels, most
people don't last for very long before taking a
breather on the side. There is a high-pitched
wail that underlies the nine acres of fabric that
is oddly comforting-it speaks of grief enacted
and the pain of loss soothed by love.
Almost pagan in its inclusion of items
offered for the comfort of the dead, the Quilt
contains stuffed animals, clothing from
leather to sequins, cremation ashes, rhine
stones, photographs, flags, merit badges, a
Buddhist saffron robe and mardi gras masks.
Quilt panels range from the staik to the
intricate, some using only initials or first
names, others proudly spelling out the loved
ones name and affiliations. One message left
on the quilt said:
Take care of
my beloved Jack,
He’s so gentle-Don't
let him be frightened.
Tell him to wait for
me-I will love him
always.
I doubt that anyone beside Jack and his lover
will ever know their identity, but their
presence will always be felt whenever the
Quilt is unfolded.
Remember their names is the quiet
command of the Quilt. It echoes through you
when you step on the white canvass
walkways. Remember their names, call their
names-paste their names on the stark
numbers you hear everyday.
By keeping the names of people who have
died due to AIDS alive, Cleve Jones has
protected AIDS-affected communities' right
to grieve their unnatural loss. The Quilt has
become the national memorial to people who
have died due to AIDS, and it is also their
national cemetery. By reciting the human toll
of the epidemic, the Quilt allows us to grieve
our personal and communal losses. We are
made whole by the Quilt at the same time it
breaks us with its heavy burden of lost life
and lost love.
Throughout the two days of its display, the
NAMES Project estimated that 200,(XX)
people stepped onto the Quilt, and 150,000
participated in the Candlelight March. The
National Park Service, on the other hand,
estimated the crowd at the Quilt at 15,000,
and the number of marchers at 8,600. We
urge those of you who were present for the
weekend to call the Park Service at (202)
343-1100, and tell them you want to be added
to their list Be kind, it gets mighty confusing
when you're working with fingers and toes.
-Chris Duncan
15th Anniversary Celebration
ATLANTA
Center Stage Theatre
Saturday, November 19
5pm & 9pm
Cris Williamson & Band
Lucie Blue Tremblay
Dianne Davidson & Band
Deidre McCalla
Tret Fure & Band
Nancy Vogl
Tickets $18 5pm, $20 9pm
send sell addressed stamped envelope with your check made out to Olivia Records,
1029 Peachtree St. ME, Suite 101, Atlanta, EA 30309.
Available alter Sept.16 at Center Stage Box Otlice (404) 873-2500
end all SEATS outlets (including Turtle's Records)
Concert interpreted lor the hearing impaired.
Special arrangements must be made tor
wheelchair accessibilty by calling (404) 873-2500.
This concert is presented
by Olivia Records
OLIVIA RECORDS
• 0 o tn
a Your Passport is Waiting! n
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©<?
GAPAC Dinner and Show
Nov. 12,1988
Colony Square Hotel
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Doug Lothes is hilarious! Suede is wonderful!
J> 1 For Tickets or Info Call 888-0510 or 521-0630
^Write your own ticket $60, $1OO, or $150