Many AIDS Memorial Quilt volunteers do not have quilting experience prior to when they join us to make a difference. All they need is a drive to help the Quilt honor, remember and celebrate the stories and lives that HIV and AIDS took from us. However, Mike “Mac” McNamara has an incredible amount of both experience and drive to make a difference.
An experienced quilter from New England, the start of the HIV and AIDS crisis afflicted Mac’s friends, friends of friends, and other community members with the devastating illness. Mac was angry about the lack of action around the United States, and his anger led to activism.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt emerged out of a similar sense of anger in the Bay Area. The project aimed to force attention upon the crisis by humanizing it, and honoring the unique stories and lives of individuals lost to HIV and AIDS. When news about the Quilt spread to the East Coast, Mac got involved immediately.
Honoring Friends Lost to HIV and AIDS
“I first started working with the AIDS Quilt in the ‘80s. We had panel-making set up in this old church in South Boston,” Mac said.
One of the most intricate panels that Mac made in Boston at the height of the HIV and AIDS crisis was for three Bostonians from the theater community. “Joe Braz was a popular theater director; Bob Forget (for-ZHAY) was an actor; Joey Branden was (a) singer, actor,” Mac remembered. A local Boston theater donated a selection of old velvet curtains to the quilters. Mac used those donated theater curtains for the fabric base of this panel. The three theater actors and directors are forever remembered with their names etched into the curtains hung throughout their careers.
Another early panel that Mac made was for a college friend, Bob. “Bob Williams was a college housemate who got into his African heritage with colorful clothes,” Mac explained of the colorful and gorgeous Quilt panel he made for Bob.
Another memorable panel Mac crafted was for two pianists from his community. “TJ and John Lenehan were great piano players - TJ was a friend of a friend, John L was my cousin Randa's accompanist and arranger,” Mac said about this piano-themed panel that honors TJ and John’s love for the music they poured their hearts into.
All of these panels have a common thread. Mac’s panels honor those taken by HIV and AIDS with a touching tribute to a key interest or aspect of their lives and stories.
Continuing the Work
Mac’s ongoing work with the Quilt does not stop when he puts his sewing machine away.
“I would go down to DC every year and we’d fill up the Mall,” Mac recalled about volunteering with the Quilt in Washington, D.C. every year. “It was fun work but serious work. It’s serious because it represented the people who we didn’t know a whole lot about who didn’t deserve to die… who died due to a lack of action.”
Mac also assists others in the process of making Quilt panels to honor their loved ones. Mac learned the importance of this work early on in the HIV and AIDS crisis with one of the first panels he assisted with. “I remember a couple came in and wanted to make a Quilt panel for their son and… seeing the impact (the panel) had on them made it a really easy job.”
The Fight Continues
Almost four decades after sewing his first stitch into the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Mac is still contributing to the memorials of those lost to HIV and AIDS. Two Saturdays a month, Mac volunteers at AIDS Quilt Workshops, helping repair, maintain, and craft new memorials for those HIV and AIDS have taken.
“The free pizza!” Mac joked about what keeps him coming back. “But, people from all walks of life come and there’s this kind of comradery that forms… there’s a loving atmosphere that forms from this important work.”
Like Mac, you can volunteer:
- Every first Saturday of the month at 543 Castro Street in San Francisco. Noon to 4 pm.
- Every 4th Saturday of the month at 130 Doolittle Drive, #2 in San Leandro. Noon to 4 pm
For more information, email rwilliams@aidsmemorial.org and gmcmullin@aidsmemorial.org.
