President Joe Biden marked World AIDS Day yesterday by displaying panels from the AIDS memorial quilt at the White House. It’s the first time the President’s residence has shown any of the panels. They graced the south lawn while a giant red ribbon hung on the exterior of the building.
On World AIDS Day, the Biden-Harris Administration honors the memory of those we have lost to HIV/AIDS and celebrates the remarkable strength of the over one million Americans who continue to live and thrive with HIV. pic.twitter.com/ft5BU5Bmsn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 2, 2024
Biden addressed a crowd made up of survivors, advocates, and family members who lost loved ones to the disease. He said the panels represented “precious lives cut short.”
“We stand united in the fight against this epidemic,” Biden said. “It matters … I remember as senator, when this epidemic was raging, the stigma, the misinformation, the government failing to act and acknowledge the dignity of [LGBTQ] lives and the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic.”
Join the frontline of change
Be informed, be inspired, and be part of the conversation that’s shaping a queerer world with our newsletter.
Addressing the inaction of the Reagan administration to deal with the HIV epidemic when it first appeared in the early 1980s, Biden said, “It caused serious harm.
“It compounded pain and trauma for a community watching a generation of loved ones and friends perish. It was horribly, horribly wrong.”
“We’ve also seen advocates, survivors, families, allies, who’ve turned their pain into purpose, like all of you have,” Biden added. “Their loss into determination, their anger, into a movement that’s literally changing the world.”
The @AIDSQuilt at the White House today. pic.twitter.com/XJtlRaMLHm
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) December 1, 2024
It was an honor and a privilege to be invited to attend today’s #WorldAIDSDay event at the @WhiteHouse and stand on the South Lawn and see the AIDS Quilt laid out at the White House for the first time ever! pic.twitter.com/eP7vzGfT8a
— John M. Erickson, Ph.D. (@JohnEricksonWH) December 2, 2024
Dr. Jill Biden said, “As I look at this beautiful quilt, with its bright colors, the names in big block letters, renderings of lives and loves, I see it as a mom, and I think of the mothers who stitched their pain into a patchwork panel so the world would remember their child.”
Others to speak at the event included Jeanne White-Ginder, whose teenage son Ryan White died of AIDS in 1990.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt
The AIDS Memorial Quilt was conceived in the mid-80s by activist Cleve Jones. It exists a way for people to commemorate those lost to HIV. The quilt first went on display in 1987 on the Mall in Washington DC. It has now grown to around 48,000 panels.
Treatment for HIV was transformed in the mid-90s by the arrival of effective antiretroviral medication. Although not a cure, those on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load cannot pass the virus on and are unlikely to die from HIV-related illness.
HIV experts are lobbying countries to try and end HIV transmission by 2030. Whether the US can hit this target is debatable. It has still failed to hit a UNAIDS target of 90-90-90, whereby 90% of citizens with HIV are diagnosed, 90% of those are on treatment and a further 90% of those are undetectable.
On World AIDS Day, we once more raise the AIDS ribbon on the White House to remember all those we’ve lost, how far we’ve come, and the work we have ahead.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 1, 2024
Let's finish this fight, together.
View on Threads
Related
Donja R. Love’s writing program for people living with HIV is still telling the community to keep dreaming big.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
