by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Once feared as much as the plague and ebola, HIV/AIDS has slowly become as mainstream as terrorism, e-mail, “Brangolina” sightings and global warming. And, while other subjects seem to have replaced AIDS on the world’s front pages, there’s no denying the disease affects both those with it and those without.
Wednesday, HIV/AIDS took center stage during a solemn ceremony at City Hall during which Mayor John Peyton proclaimed Friday, World AIDS Day Jacksonville. Dozens of volunteers marked the occasion by helping display HIV/AIDS quilts all over City Hall. Many hang from the building’s five floors while four rest peacefully on the atrium floor, surrounding a Christmas tree.
Vicki Hitzing is the local chair of World AIDS Week. She took part in her sixth annual event and said she’s impressed with how the event has grown.
“We had about 25 people here six years ago and it was not enough to go around and hold hands,” she said to the more than 100 that showed up Wednesday, easily enough to form a human ring around the City Hall atrium.
The event was organized by Jeffrey Miller, Northeast Florida Chapter president and chapter coordinator of The Quilt AIDS Memorial, and Jeremy Lucas, the quilt panel-making chair and the founder of the local organization. Both had help hanging the 12-by-12 quilts — all of which are handmade by individuals and groups to honor someone who has died of HIV/AIDS and all of which are stored in Atlanta and have been on display either all over the country or world at some point since the initiative was created in San Francisco in 1987.
“Most often, the quilts are for one person. But, one Episcopal Church has a number of names on it,” said Lucas, who also makes the quilts himself.
Overall, there are more than 5,700 quilts worldwide, each of which is comprised of eight custom quilts. Lucas said the last full display of every quilt on the planet was in 1996 when the exhibit was in Washington, D.C.
“They stretched from the Washington Monument to the Capital,” he said.
According to Miller, the Northeast Florida area is one of 21 chapters in the country. At any given moment, some of the area’s 20 quilts are on display somewhere in the region that stretches as far south as Daytona Beach.
“Many are from Jacksonville, so we try to pull them for this,” said Miller of the quilts at City Hall. He also said this year’s marks the 25th anniversary of the week long event. “It’s an anniversary I like to celebrate, but one we must remember.”
Peyton’s participation marked the first time a Jacksonville mayor has appeared at the event, a fact that drew a round of applause.
“This is a very powerful visual,” said Peyton, who first got involved in the event in 1991 when a similar event was held at the Osborn Center. “The AIDS quilt is a powerful way to spread the word.”
While modern medicine has vastly improved the treatment of HIV and AIDS, the fact remains it’s still a deadly disease that’s contracted worldwide at a startling rate.
“Every eight seconds someone is diagnosed with AIDS,” said Miller. “That’s how long a bull ride lasts.”
Quilt facts
• Number of annual visitors worldwide: 15.2 million
• Number of individual panels: approximately 46,000
• Number of 12-by-12 blocks: over 5,700
• Number of names on the quilts: more than 83,400
• Size in square feet: 1.3 million
• Miles of fabric (if laid end-to- end): 52.25
• Total weight: 54 tons
• Project chapters in the U.S.: 21
• International affiliates: 43
• New HIV cases in the U.S. annually: 40,000
• Number of HIV cases in Duval County: more than 6,000
• Number infected with HIV/AIDS in U.S.: 900,000
• Number living with HIV/AIDS worldwide: 40 million