Over 100 people gathered in downtown Bangor, Maine this past Sunday, July 7, to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of Charlie Howard, a young man thrown from a bridge in a terrible act homophobia.
Reports the Bangor Daily News:
Howard, who was 23 at the time of his death, was thrown over a bridge on State Street into the Kenduskeag Stream by three teenagers, who were later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to detention at the Maine Youth Center.
His death sent shockwaves through the community and galvanized a nascent Maine LGBTQ+ movement, including the formation of the Maine Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance, which eventually became EqualityMaine, the state’s oldest and largest LGBTQ+ organization.
“Charlie should have been able to walk down any street and not fear for his life. We shouldn’t have to ask permission to be ourselves,” said Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine, who spoke at the memorial. “We are here today because of what happened. The light that was inside of Charlie has passed on from person to person. And that light will never go out.”
The memorial was organized by EqualityMaine, Health Equity Alliance, the Needlepoint Sanctuary and a number of local churches, including the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, a church that Howard himself was a part of.
A memorial service was held at the UU Church, after which people walked in a processional down Park Street hill toward the bridge where Howard drowned four decades ago. After a ceremony at the bridge, participants threw flowers into the Kenduskeag Stream, next to a granite memorial to Howard that was installed in 2004. Howard, who was remembered as a gentle, fun-loving young man, loved flowers.
“From generation to generation, we have a tendency to wander and forget what has happened in the past,” said the Rev. Drew Moeller, minister of the Bangor UU Church. “We cannot forget that we all must stand up for the rights of all people, LGBTQIA+ people, people of color, all marginalized people.”
Read the complete Bangor Daily News story here.
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