JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sunlight filtered through the windows of Jacksonville’s City Hall atrium Monday morning, illuminating dozens of quilts that hung from railings and walls. Each panel holds a story of lives impacted by HIV/AIDS in fabric and thread.
Some lay carefully arranged on the tile floor, while others stretched upward toward the balconies where Riverside High School students gathered to sing. Their voices echoed through the space as visitors moved around and paused to read names.
Carefully displayed in front of a podium is the newest edition. It includes the story of Kat Newman, a board member of Friends of the Quilt who died in January 2025.
Justin Bell, CEO of Friends of the Quilt, said he struggled to maintain his emotions during its dedication.
“Kat Newman was the energy that pushed me and gave me guidance,” Bell said. “She will forever be in our hearts this week. She’s been in my heart so heavy, and her messaging, her energy – I can just feel her.”
The panel Kat lies on is part of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which spans 1.2 million square feet – the equivalent of 20 football fields – and contains more than 100,000 names. Each panel measures 3 feet by 6 feet, matching the dimensions of a human grave.
“They are not graves,” Chris Day with Friends of the Quilt said. ”They are acts of remembrance. They are declarations of love. And they are calls to action.”
It’s the 26th year the event has been held in Jacksonville. Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. A day spent by several local groups honoring those impacted by the disease.
“I don’t think I have a bigger honor,” Bell said. “Our brothers and sisters need to be remembered, whether their name is stitched in fabric on a quilt or not.”
Throughout the ceremony, organizers unveiled additional panels highlighting the impact of HIV/AIDS on local residents. Jacksonville currently has around 7,000 people living with HIV.
“One of these days it will be the last quilt we ever hang,” Karim Walker with the World AIDS Day Committee said.
The city of Jacksonville has established specific targets in its fight against HIV/AIDS: 95% of those with HIV/AIDS knowing their status, having access to care, and achieving viral suppression.
The plan includes eliminating stigma and discrimination against those living with the disease.
The National AIDS Memorial in San Francisco maintains the quilt panels, representing a fraction of the 42 million lives lost to AIDS-related illnesses worldwide. Each new panel preserves a story of love, loss, and community remembrance in the world.