THE AIDS MEMORIAL

#WorldAIDSDay2025: remembering my boyfriend who died of #AIDS in London in 1983 before there were any retrovirals or effective treatment of any kind; the AIDS crisis isn't over — it's just different — & we need renewed commitment to end the scourge of #HIV/AIDS... #WorldAIDSDay

A screenshot from The AIDS Quilt zoomed in on the center of block 1918, which has the panel for Elijah Seals. There is a spring bird on one side, a tree on the other, and a poem in the center on a pink panel with a purple border. Below the poem it says Elijah Pate Seals July 23, 1952 to September 1, 1991 Lumberton, Mississippi The poem reads: Elijah There once was a prophet that walked this earth That was mightily used of God. He was Tishbite by birth, and through many lives he trod. I was not fortunate enough to be around When this man was on the scene He was acoused by the king of "troubling the land" And provoked the wrath of the queen. But I am privileged to know another man Wholes name is much the same This man also hears from God And is called by his son's precious name. The Elijah I know troubles no one. His nature is sweet and kind. His life has enriched many, And one of those is mine. The the number of his talents may be so great, It's known only to God above. But once again we see the scripture fulfilled For the greatest of these is his love.

It's World AIDS Day.

My father has a panel on the AIDS Quilt. He was 39 when he died.

If you've never taken a digital walk through The Aids Quilt, and the Library of Congress digitization of the entries, I hope you'll consider it.

www.aidsmemorial.org/interactive-...

www.loc.gov/collections/...

This is my uncle, who died of AIDS in 1988. Only 10 years my senior, when I'd stay with my grandparents, he was my babysitter. He made me peanut butter toast and let me listen to his records (he was a huge Melanie fan) and then we'd head off to the hippie bookstore. I miss him so much.

Portrait of Steven Schultz taken with my grandfather's Hasselblad

This unacknowledged World AIDS day, I'm remembering my two beloved uncles who died of AIDS in the 90s: Steven Schultz (seen in the photo) and Don Reid. They lived on the upper west side of Manhattan, in a stretch of apartments along the West Side Highway and I vividly remember their small apartment.

Trump not acknowledging does not erase World AIDS Day. Too many lost. Government failure. Today for those who died of and those who just couldn’t go on. Steve and Dennis. Laura and I will always love you. Our family.

Many personal and professional layers to #WorldAidsDay for me.
My Uncle Joe was a gay man who contracted HIV in the 1980’s pandemic. I watched him suffer for years, wasting away from AIDS until he died at just age 39, when I was 9. Massive impact on me and my reasons for becoming a nurse.

My dad's best friend from high school, Dean, died of AIDs when I was a kid. We did this quilt for him (I helped paint the Pooh and Tigger.) I'm glad there's a place I can periodically check it out and be reminded of him. I didn't know him long but all my memories are wonderful. He was a gem.

A newspaper clipping from the LA Times about various people who had recently died from AIDS. It shows a beautiful photo of my dad in his priest collar.

Here is an article that was written in the @latimes.com shortly after my father lost his battle with AIDS in 1986

My mom and my aunts sewed a panel for my uncle when he died. I've had the chance to see parts of the quilt in person, the most recently was in Toronto in 2006, and it is such a beautiful tribute, seeing the art and love that surrounded each person, which is what also makes it so devastating.

Two people in a park

My friend Dickie and me in 98 I think, before he died in 2000. He was one of the first people to believe in my writing even though I was so young, and I’m so grateful to the generation of AIDS activists who shaped my politics and my understanding of what it means to be queer.

Tall man comforting a woman in white standing on the national mall among the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Me and my best friend J. at the AIDS Memorial Quilt in DC. 1987?
He died not long after this at the age of 27. I still think of him almost every day.
#worldaidsday
#neverforget

Block no. 0051 of the AIDS Memorial Quilt

My uncle, Douglas Colesworthy, on the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He died in 1987. Silence = death.

A part of the AIDS Quilt memorializing Bruce Harmon, the best music teacher ever.

Bruce was my choir director and probably the first person I knew that died of AIDS. Here is is patch on the AIDS Quilt. He’s probably the best music teacher I ever had. #worldaidsday

My mom made this panel of the AIDS Memorial quilt for nine of her friends who died. Kenny was my beautiful, funny friend and roommate; he died in 1990 and I still think of him so often. Silence = Death.

Commemorating World AIDS Day with a personal loss and tribute: Friend and former bandmate, Steve Vincent, who died at 30.
Fuck Reagan and trump.

My older brother, Geoffrey a businessman who lived in L.A. died from AIDS in 1990.

He’s the boy kneeling on the right.

I really miss him. He was a fussy neat freak, expert photographer and very protective of me.

Very glad people with AIDS have life saving treatments available. ❤️❤️❤️

#WorldAIDS

Let me give you a visual. On the right was my brother, Jack. He was my mentor and more a father than our father was to us. Both father and brother died 5 months apart. Jack had HIV/AIDS. I was the only one at his funeral.

a picture of a young man with a mustache and a pink tank top and white pants in front of some trees

I missed world aids day but oh well. this is my uncle victor, he died of aids about 10 years before I was born. i was named for him and i used the feminized version of it as my middle name to honor him. i always wished growing up he was still here so I wasn't the only queer person in the family

I know I'm a day late, but I want to celebrate my best friend, Paul King, who died after a six year battle with AIDS. His boyfriend was one of the first cases in San Francisco.Other friends of mine did not survive that long. It didn't have to happen this way. #WorldAIDSDay

My brother died of AIDS in 1995. He nearly made it to the moment when drug treatments became available.

#WorldAIDSDay #WorldAIDSDay2025 #whatisrememberedlives

Given Trump’s latest actions, it’s a good day to give @theaidsmemorial.bsky.social a follow 🔺👍

I make a point of reading one post a day on @theaidsmemorial.bsky.social FB page. Never easy reading, but I feel I must. Does that make sense?
A rather sad post today where the poster talked about survivors guilt, having seen his best friend and former partner die of Aids in the 80's and 90's. 😢

My late lover, Mark, died 43 years ago next month, alone in a Seattle ICU, another HIV/AIDS casualty. The viral attack came fast as did death.

He phoned from the hospital in tears, asking me to remember him. We then lived two states apart. His last gift was a studio pic.

I just AI-animated it.❤️‍🩹🎈

Thinking of my friend Gary Way today. ❤️
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, begun in 1987, is the world’s largest community folk art project. You can find Gary on Panel #0233.

aidsmemorial.org

@theaidsmemorial.bsky.social I worked with a man named Mike Pascoe. We were Met Police Traffic Wardens in London’s West End. I was 20 he was in his 30’s. I found out 2 weeks ago that as I suspected he died from #AIDS. Every death is a tragedy and a life lost that should have been lived with pride.

I detest FB, but the submitted memorial stories on the
@theaidsmemorial.bsky.social page are crushingly haunting and powerful. Atlanta lost so many brilliant, creative souls.
May their memories be a blessing.

C'è un account che Facebook ha deciso di farmi scoprire - e che è presente su Instagram, ma anche su BlueSky per quanto poco attivo: @theaidsmemorial.bsky.social - che è un po' un pugno nello stomaco, e un po' una cosa importante, da condividere e da diffondere.

Perché racconta la nostra storia.

@theaidsmemorial.bsky.social
So glad to be back and following The AIDS Memorial. Been following for years.

So happy to see that The Aids Memorial, one of the most important and impactful accounts I follow on Instagram, is on Bluesky now!
bsky.app/profile/thea...