Produced and Edited by Sarah Arellano
Every year, the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation hosts an AIDS Walk to increase awareness and support for people living with and or affected by HIV/AIDS.
A special part of the walk every year is the AIDS Memorial Quilt demonstration. An AIDs Memorial is a quilt made by friends and families of loved ones who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS.
“The AIDS Memorial Quilt started on October 11th, 1987, when it debuted on the National Mall. There were 1,920 panels, each remembering someone lost to AIDS. Volunteers unfolded it at sunrise and throughout the day, all 1,920 names were read aloud, a tradition that continues today,” said SAAF Donor Development Coordinator Tris Fowler. Fowler has worked with SAAF for two years, originally starting as a Housing Case Manager.
Building on a tradition that began with the first national quilt demonstration all those years ago, SAAF uses the start of AIDS Awareness Month to honor the history and human impact of HIV/AIDS. Its annual AIDS Memorial Quilt demonstration serves as a reminder of the lives lost and the work that remains.
For the past 36 years, the AIDS Walk has been a cornerstone event in Tucson. Each year, SAAF brings out panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt to honor members of the Tucson community who have been lost to AIDS.
According to Fowler, the annual display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt carries deep meaning. She explained that it only comes out once a year during World AIDS Day as a way to honor the people lost to HIV and AIDS. This year, SAAF will have ten quilts on display, with a ceremony unfolding each panel and reading every name, continuing the tradition of the original World’s AIDS Memorial Quilt debut.
Fowler also spoke about what the quilt means to her personally. “Being in the Queer Community, there are stories of people who have lost someone all the way back to the beginning of the movement. We all knew somebody who knew somebody who was affected by HIV. The quilt holds a very personal place in my heart because my aunt, who grew up as an out and proud lesbian in southern Alabama, had a lot of friends that she lost within those first couple of years of the pandemic, really taking off,” she said.
Beyond her personal connection, Fowler emphasized the significance of honoring the local Tucson community. She said it is powerful to see families return each year to witness their loved ones remembered. “It really helps us keep that work alive, and it feels so special to get to do that,” Fowler added, highlighting the ongoing importance of the quilt in keeping the memory and stories of those affected by HIV/AIDS present in the community.
On December 6th, Tucson will host the 37th Annual AIDS Walk, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Gene C. Reid Park. The event brings the community together to raise awareness, honor those affected by HIV/AIDS, and support the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation’s ongoing work. For more information about the event, visit saaf.org.
