RIPON, Wis. – Quilting is a passion for many in Wisconsin, but there’s one quilt no one wants to add to: the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Cleve Jones, creator of the quilt, will speak at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 11 in the Great Hall of Harwood Memorial Union as part of Ripon College’s Diversity Week activities. His talk is also in conjunction with Ripon’s own AIDS quilt project.

Jones first conceived of the quilt in 1985, after he and participants of a candlelight march honoring AIDS victims had taped placards bearing the names of lost friends and loved ones to the San Francisco Federal Building. The placards resembled a patchwork quilt, which inspired the idea. Sadly, it wasn’t long before he created the first panel in memory of his best friend, Marvin Feldman. He later joined with friends and other activists to create the NAMES Project Foundation, which oversees the quilt and its thousands of public displays around the world. To date, more than 14 million people have visited it. It bears more than 40,000 panels.

In addition to his work as an activist an lecturer, Jones is the author of a bestselling memoir, Stitching a Revolution. His work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline, Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show and National Public Radio, among others.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jessica Joanis at (920) 745-7048.

About Ripon College
Ripon College, founded in 1851, prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Ripon’s liberal arts curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education. Ripon has been recognized as a “best value” and “Best 361 College” by The Princeton Review, a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s, and among the 160 best schools in the nation by Colleges of Distinction. For more information about Ripon College, visit www.ripon.edu.