AIDS Memorial Quilt

05/28/2026

From his 1943 birth in a Japanese-American internment camp to his death in 2000 due to AIDS, the life of Kiyoshi Kuromiya is a profound testament not only to how health and social injustices pervade throughout our society, but also to how individuals like him dedicate their lives to fighting back against them.

Kiyoshi Kuromiya was a titan of activism whose work spanned generations and movements. Whether he was marching with Dr. King in Selma, caring for the King children after Dr. King’s assassination, or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in Philadelphia in 1965, Kiyoshi lived a life of action.

When the HIV/AIDS crisis emerged, he turned his focus to the empowerment of the community. He was the lead plaintiff in Kuromiya v. The United States, a class-action lawsuit to legalize medical ma*****na for HIV/AIDS patients, and he fought all the way to the Supreme Court to protect freedom of speech on the internet so that medical information could remain accessible to all.

Thank you, Kiyoshi, for your courage and for paving the way toward a more just future.

🗣️ Say Kiyoshi Kuromiya's name!

05/27/2026

🎥 Arthur J. Bressan Jr. was a pioneer in indie q***r cinema.

A self-taught filmmaker from Manhattan, Bressan's documentaries and films delved into + topics that few others were approaching at the time. Buddies, a 1985 feature film that Bressan wrote and directed, was the first American film to tackle the subject of the crisis. Bressan's life was taken by when he was 44. Today would have been Bressan's birthday.

🗣️ Say Arthur J. Bressan Jr.'s name.

05/22/2026

Registrations for the 2026 AIDS Walk San Francisco are open!

Join the team in person or as a virtual walker to strive for a future free from the AIDS crisis. Sign up for the Saturday, July 19th event today:

Dear Walkers and friends, Thank you for visiting our AIDS Walk San Francisco (AWSF26) team page! The National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park - a place of hope, healing, and remembrance and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community folk arts project in the world, composed of 50,000 hand...

05/21/2026

How is our team bringing the AIDS Memorial Quilt back into focus?

Our friends at KQED shared how our new project to digitize the is immortalizing panels, ensuring the lives they honor will be remembered. https://www.kqed.org/arts/13989048/aids-memorial-quilt-photography-redigitization-san-leandro

Learn more about how you can volunteer to support this essential project: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemDi4I0pS4mVBFM-M_LvI7zKgZARvEd1gG-h701y3S0wIvGw/viewform

Photos from (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

05/21/2026

Congratulations to Sarah Madland on her appointment as General Manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.

Sarah has helped shape policy and partnership at Rec and Park for many years, and the National AIDS Memorial has been fortunate to work alongside her in caring for and strengthening one of San Francisco’s most meaningful public spaces.

National AIDS Memorial Executive Director John Cunningham shared:

"Through our model public-private partnership, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department has been instrumental in the National AIDS Memorial's work. Having had the opportunity to work closely with Sarah over many years, we both congratulate her on her well-deserved promotion and look forward to continuing our collaboration with the department under Sarah Madland's leadership. Sarah brings decades of experience and a clear commitment to expanding access to our parks and to building powerful partnerships to ensure every San Franciscan has access to the power of parks."

05/20/2026

The National AIDS Memorial mourns the passing of former Congressman Barney Frank. He was a groundbreaking public servant whose courage and unapologetic honesty helped change what was possible for LGBTQ+ people in public life.

At a time when being openly gay in elected office could end a career, Barney Frank chose visibility. He understood that representation was not symbolic; it was personal and life-changing for countless people watching from the margins.

His voice was fearless, and often very funny. But beneath it was something deeply human: a belief that people deserved fairness, and the freedom to live openly as themselves.

For organizations like the National AIDS Memorial and for generations of LGBTQ+ Americans, his legacy is not only what he achieved in Congress but what his presence made possible.

We extend our condolences to his husband Jim Ready, his loved ones, colleagues, and all those whose lives were changed by his example.

05/16/2026

Inspirational poet Mary Bowman used her art to spur activism in her community.

Becoming a Nationally known did not waver Mary's ability to offer herself raw and unadulterated, as a young woman born with HIV. Bowman's life was taken by when she was just thirty.

But Bowman's legacy lives on. The Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award offers young art activists (artivists) grants to help them continue to exemplify Mary’s passion for creating art as a vehicle for community activism.

Young artivists can apply for these $5,000 awards today: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/mary-bowman-arts-in-activism-award

ViiV Healthcare

To honor the legacy of Mary Bowman and support other accomplished young and emerging art activists ("artivists") like her, the National AIDS Memorial has partnered with ViiV Healthcare to create the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award. Student and non-student art activists are welcome to apply for th...

05/16/2026

"Nobody will believe in you if you don't believe in yourself." - Wladziu Valentino Liberace

was an incredible entertainer who enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, movies. He continued to perform after a positive HIV diagnosis before his life was taken by at the age of 67. Today would have been Liberace's birthday.

🗣️ Say Liberace's name.