Red Ribbons: To Remind Us All . . .
An exhibition of Red Ribbons for
AIDS Awareness
Lapel pins and collectibles from the collection of
Norman L. Sandfield
Red Ribbons: To Remind Us All . . .
 

Norman Sandfield has been collecting Red Ribbon pins for AIDS Awareness and related memorabilia ever since he first designed a logo for the letterhead of the then newly-formed Jewish AIDS Network - Chicago in 1993. That logo morphed into a lapel pin for fund-raising purposes, and more than 3,500 of those pins have been sold and distributed world-wide. There were other Jewish groups with their own versions of how to combine the classic Jewish 6-pointed blue star with the red AIDS Ribbon on a lapel pin, and he acquired those. Then he found that there were more similar pins available through eBay and other Internet sources, and the serious collecting started. When Sandfield's brother gave him a first day cover with the USPS Red Ribbon stamp on it, that extended his collecting interest into Red Ribbon postal items. Currently, Norman has a large collection of lapel pins; postal items with the USPS stamp featuring the Red Ribbon for, including many first-day-covers; many stamps from some of the 70+ countries that have issued postal items with the AIDS or Red Ribbon theme, including some original artwork for the United Nations editions of the AIDS Awareness stamps; and a great diversity of related collectibles. Beside these Red Ribbon items, he has also collected a wide-range of Gay and Lesbian / Rainbow pride buttons and pins, including pins from the Chicago Pride Parades, the Marches on Washington, LGBT political events, LGBT businesses, and more. The size and diversity of his collection means that there will be rotating exhibits at Gerber/Hart Library over the next year, in order to show it all. Gerber/Hart Library will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2006. Many of the objects from Sandfield's collection that reflect some of the LGBT political events and activities during the last quarter-century will be exhibited during the upcoming year. Some of these include Gay and Lesbian political events and activities, including LGBT political candidates, LGBT support of mainstream candidates, LGBT businesses, and more.

Why This Collection? "Symbols provide the basic beginning structures for change in attitude and are keys to opening doors of awareness."

During the past 20 years that the Gay and Lesbian community has been living with the threat and the reality of AIDS, it has gone from a mystery to a crisis to a chronic medical condition. The loss of our young and not-so-young, our leaders and potential leaders, and our friends and relatives, has been traumatic. It has now gone well beyond the boundaries of the LGBT community to become a world-wide medical issue. As collector of many items, some fine art and antiques, and some just fun, this collection started as a way for me to document the awareness of AIDS in the Jewish community, and grew to a collection that registers the impact of AIDS on many groups around the world. From a few organizations using their red ribbon logo to raise awareness and funds, it has grown to be a popular collectible. Most recently, it has also become a business where commercial enterprises that can manufacture or print a ribbon product in one color can reproduce their jewelry or product in any of the dozens of other popular awareness colors. Another factor in my collecting is that this is a relatively inexpensive collectible. Buttons and pins, and many other imprinted premiums are often given out free at various sponsored events. On eBay, one major source for the serious collector, many of these items go for so little, many less than $5 each, that the postage is often more than the cost of the pin. The higher price pins may be those from the Hard Rock Cafe, which can go as high as an affordable $30, and some of the designer pins such as those from Bulgari and David Yurban, which may go higher. It is my pleasure to share my collections with the audiences that come through Gerber/Hart Library in order that all of us will remember! Awareness Ribbons, some history The first AIDS cases in the United States were reported in 1981, and the red ribbon made its public debut at the June 1991 Tony Awards. It soon became a popular and politically correct fashion statement for celebrities and other awards ceremonies. While this was not the first ribbon to be worn to raise awareness for an issue or cause, its wide acceptance led to the popularity and diversity of awareness ribbons for many causes today. Currently one Internet site lists more than 150 causes with ribbons, some much more serious than others! The merging of the ribbon and symbolism in this country came about in two huge leaps. The first occurred in 1979, the year that Penney Laingen, wife of a hostage who'd been taken in Iran, was inspired by song to tie yellow ribbons around the trees in her front yard, signaling her desire to see her husband home again. For the first time, ribbon became medium, and ribbon became message. Yellow ribbons sprouted up across the country in solidarity. That was step one. Step two occurred 11 years later, when AIDS activists looked at the yellow ribbons that had been resurrected for soldiers fighting the Gulf War and said, "What about something for our boys dying here at home?" The activist art group Visual AIDS turned the ribbon bright red because it's the color of passion, looped it, spruced it up and sent it onto the national stage during the Tony awards, photogenically pinned to the chest of actor Jeremy Irons. Ribbons had arrived. Overnight, every charitable cause had to have one. After just a short time, they were so ubiquitous that The New York Times declared 1992 "The Year of the Ribbon." The yellow ribbon was followed by the introduction of the pink ribbon for breast cancer in the fall of 1991. First on that scene was the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Komen had been handing out bright pink visors to breast cancer survivors running in its Race for the Cure since late 1990. In fall 1991, mere months after Irons' electrifying appearance, the foundation gave out pink ribbons to every participant in its New York City race.