FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 28, 2026
CONTACT: Karina Diaz, Hudson County Executive’s Office
PHONE: 201-795-6200
JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs / Tourism Development and National AIDS Memorial, in partnership with the Hudson County LGBTQ+ Advisory Task Force and the Hudson County Executive’s Office, will bring a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to the Historic William J. Brennan Courthouse this June.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Historic William J. Brennan Courthouse from June 1 through June 30th as part of a public exhibition titled Showing the Love: Hudson County Lives, HIV/AIDS, and the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The display is free and open to the public.
“We are honored to partner with the National AIDS Memorial to bring the Quilt to our community and share its stories of hope, activism, healing, and remembrance,” said Hudson County Executive Craig Guy. “The Quilt connects the story of AIDS directly to the work still being done today to provide services, education, and greater awareness surrounding HIV. It offers an important reflection on the tremendous loss of life while ensuring those we’ve lost are never forgotten and that hope for the future continues.”
On June 4, the Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs / Tourism Development and LGBTQ+ Advisory Task Force will host a special panel discussion from 5–6 PM in the Brennan Courthouse Rotunda featuring Jonathan Lucas from the Hudson Pride Center, Darice Toon, Director of the Hudson County Department of Health & Human Services, and others to discuss personal and historical experiences on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The panel discussion will follow the annual flag raising of the Progress Pride flag for National Pride Month.
Throughout the ongoing AIDS crisis, more than 700,000 lives have been lost in the United States to HIV/AIDS. Today, HIV continues to disproportionately impact young people, communities of color, and communities in the Southern United States. Quilt displays serve as powerful educational tools that raise awareness about the history of AIDS while promoting prevention, treatment, and community resources.
The Quilt was created in the 1980s during the darkest days of the AIDS pandemic by Cleve Jones. While organizing a 1985 march in San Francisco, Jones was devastated by the thousands of lives already lost to AIDS and asked participants to write the names of loved ones they had lost on handmade placards. The names were taped to the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building, forming what looked like a patchwork quilt. Inspired by that moment, Jones and fellow activists began creating a larger memorial.
In 1987, volunteers gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history might overlook. Their goal was to create a memorial honoring those lost to AIDS while helping the public understand the devastating impact of the disease. That effort became the foundation of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Later that year, nearly 2,000 panels were displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Today, the Quilt includes more than 50,000 panels and over 110,000 names stitched into its fabric. Weighing an estimated 54 tons and stretching more than 50 miles in length, it remains the largest community arts project in the world. The Quilt is now part of the National AIDS Memorial, which oversees its preservation, care, storytelling initiatives, and community displays.
More information about the Quilt, including searchable names and digital archives, can be found through the National AIDS Memorial.