BANGOR – City councilors authorized on Monday night the installation of a plaque honoring the memory of Charlie Howard, the 23-year-old gay man whose death 20 years ago will be commemorated on July 7.

The plaque will be placed along the Kenduskeag Stream near the State Street bridge, from which Howard was thrown. He drowned, the victim of a hate crime.

The plaque is meant to serve as a temporary monument, according to Daniel Williams, executive director of the Charles O. Howard Memorial Foundation. A permanent monument is in the design phases.

Memorial events will include a nondenominational service at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 120 Park St., a 7:15 p.m. memorial walk and a public gathering at 8:30 p.m. near the Pickering Square Parking Garage.

Williams said the foundation is working to gain statewide and eventually nationwide support for its work.

Besides the monument, the group is raising funds for a scholarship program for students pursuing careers that promote diversity and acceptance and for educational programs aimed at increasing public awareness of various forms of discrimination.

Williams said earlier that the city and its elected official have made strides toward promoting diversity.

The City Council adopted an equal rights ordinance in 2001 and has issued proclamations for the past four years supporting the annual “Walk with the One You Love” event.

The idea behind the monument, according to Williams, is not “to open old wounds” about Howard’s death but rather to provide a place for people to pause, reflect and remember.