Everything about Julie Brown radiated life 

Everything about Julie Brown radiated life.  She taught her friends that they must revel in each day, live it entirely.   And she was a perfect example of this: her ability to take each moment and squeeze the juice out of it, garner all the love and joy and humor possible, was unmatched.

Letter from Julie’s friends

A group of Julie’s friends wrote these words and made a Quilt panel in her honor.  Julie died of AIDS-related complications in 1989 at the age of 30.

This letter, along with other materials are part of the AIDS Memorial Quilt’s archival collections that now rest within the prestigious American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.  This archival collection currently totals more than 200,000 items. It includes biographical records, correspondence, photographs, tributes, epitaphs, news clippings and artifacts submitted by panel makers that add context about the lives memorialized on The Quilt panels.

The American Folklife Center and National AIDS Memorial are working together to preserve the archival records and digitize them so the stories contained within can be forever shared with the public.

“Julie Brown was a gift to us all. She showed us that there is magic in our daily lives and, above all, that life is a celebration.”

– Friend of Julie Brown

40 years of stories

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the fear, stigma and discrimination. We share the stories of hope, courage, compassion, and love.  And, we bring to light the harsh reality that four decades later, there is no cure and the rates of infection are on the rise, particularly in communities of color.

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