On October 11, 1987, a team of 48 volunteers carefully unfolded 1,920 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall. Displayed in sections, the quilt covered more ground than a football field. On each of the panels were names of those who died of AIDS.San Franciscan gay rights activist Cleve Jones and his friends first envisioned the idea for the quilt in 1985 when they put together a memorial by writing the names of lost loved ones on paper placards. Inspired by the project, they founded the NAMES Project Foundation to create a more enduring memorial with textile arts.

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