To be an icon takes dedication and Maureen McNamara (age 69) has proven she’s iconic by showing up at every AIDS Walk New York event since the first one back in 1986. Amidst the thousands of revelers who will descend on Central Park on May 17, Maureen and her 40 colorful pins cannot be missed.
“I wear the buttons as a badge of honor, to say, ‘I have been here since the beginning, and this fight is still not over!’” she said.
Rain or shine, she shows up for this community every year, making her the perfect person to profile for this year’s theme: Walk Like an Icon.”
“I have walked with my husband, Tom, for the most part over many, many years,” said Maureen. “Some years I have walked alone and have run into friends and finished the Walk with them. I will walk until there is a cure!”
Read more from Maureen on why she has walked like an icon at every single AIDS Walk New York and will continue to do so.
First AIDS Walk:
I was 29 years old when I started walking. I walked with my husband, who was my boyfriend at that time. We got married at City Hall in 1996. The weather for the Walk was beautiful. There was a large crowd. Not as large as today’s but sizeable. I raised about $150 or $250. I was trying to get the prize where, for a certain amount raised, you were invited to a dance club!
For many years now, I have been a “Star Walker,” and I still am, raising at least $1000 a year and for that get a crown.
I walk for:
The friends I have lost — like Mark Kaplan, my first friend who passed away from AIDS in 1984 — and for my friends who are living with HIV. I couldn’t believe he died — he was only 28. Funny, kind, and wonderful. To watch him deteriorate was unimaginable; and I didn’t know what to do with that grief. Somehow, maybe through signs or posters, I heard about the Walk. There was no email then, but I found out, and I said, “I have to do something.”
For me, it wasn’t about raising money, even though I did; it was about raising awareness. People were dying, and no one was helping them.
We marched in the streets. That’s something I miss now that the Walk is entirely in Central Park. Back then, people saw us. We started in Damrosch Park, walked up Amsterdam Avenue, then ended up on Broadway. We had to walk on the sidewalk — no one was directing traffic. People on the street were like, “What is this? Who are these people?” Thousands of us raising awareness.
Favorite story:
A fun guy dressed in drag and HEELS was about to start the Walk. A few of us women asked if he was going to walk in those heels. He said, “Absolutely.” Fast forward to the end of the Walk at Damrosch Park, and there he was. I asked him, “How was the Walk?” He said, “Big mistake! I never should have worn these heels. My feet are killing me!”
Pushing through:
I never intended to walk this long. I hoped there would be a cure. I’m not a long-term survivor in the sense of having HIV, but I am a survivor of the loss of so many people. That’s what it means to me.
As the years go by, I take my time with the Walk. It’s not a race. It’s still a movement to me. I look around at all the faces and gain strength from everyone.