Cleve Jones
Creator of the AIDS quilt talks about gay rights during his appearence in Madison
Benjamin Ratliffe, Scott Hegert, Emily Wickenhauser
Issue date: 9/9/09 Section: News
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Recently portrayed on the big screen by Emile Hirsch in the movie "Milk", Cleve Jones has been an LGBT rights activist since the early 70's, and is currently an organizer for UNITE HERE, a labor union primarily of hotel and restaurant workers. On Aug. 31 he made a stop in Madison as part of a national speaking tour to organize a National Equality March in Washington D.C. on Oct. 11. A new Madison-based coalition, LGBTI Equality Now, and Haymarket Books organized the forum. In a great show of unity, and things to come, nearly every LGBT organization in Madison, as well as Iraq Veterans Against the War and MATC's Pride Alliance, pitched in to publicize the event.
Before an audience of over 400 people, young and old, Jones spoke of his 40 years in the on-going struggle for LGBT equality. As a high school student in the turbulent 60's, Jones first got involved in the anti-war movement, and then later joined the struggle of Chicano farm workers in Arizona led by Cesar Chavez. When still later he joined the Women's Liberation movement, Jones recognized the common goals these movements shared.
But it was when he stumbled upon a magazine article in his school library entitled Gays in Revolt covering the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 that he learned of the LGBT movement. He committed himself, upon surviving high school, to move to San Francisco and get involved.
His experience organizing the election campaign of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected man in a substantial position in California history, set him on a path that would shape him into a life-long activist.
Cleve Jones is perhaps best known for the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a project which began in 1987. He first conceived of it 1985 during an annual candlelight vigil in memory of Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Marchers in the vigil wrote the names of people they had known who had died of AIDS. The pages were taped together and hung from the San Francisco Federal Building in a giant tapestry.
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