Memorial walk Thursday recalls Charlie Howard

BANGOR – When a small group banded together last year to hold the first Memorial Walk for Charlie Howard, not many in the community remembered the name of the young man who was beaten and thrown from the State Street bridge because he was gay.

That list became significantly longer after more than 400 turned out to walk in Howard’s memory last year.

Walk organizer Dan Williams doesn’t expect as big a crowd this year, but “whoever shows up will please me,” he said Tuesday.

In that spirit, the second annual memorial walk will be held at approximately 7:15 p.m. Thursday, July 7. It will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. church service by the Rev. Mark Allen Doty at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Park Street.

With a likely referendum headed for a November vote that could put on hold a new state law protecting gay rights, the time to recognize diversity is as urgent as ever, Williams said.

“We can have our differences, but we don’t need to shove them down people’s throats,” Williams, an openly gay man, said. “There is still some work to be done. [Discrimination] is still around, and we need to keep the issue up front.

“Keeping the story of Charlie Howard alive has helped do that,” he added.

Last July marked the 20th anniversary of Howard’s death. The 23-year-old, described as flamboyantly gay, was beaten up by three juvenile males who then cast Howard off the downtown bridge.

The young man could not swim, and he suffered an asthma attack from the fall into the Kenduskeag Stream, where he drowned.

The three who were responsible for Howard’s death pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served time in a juvenile detention facility.

Williams and others who formed the Charles O. Howard Memorial Foundation last year held a walk to mark the 20th anniversary of Howard’s death, a walk that has become an annual event.

Participants will start at the church on Park Street and end up on State Street at the site of Howard’s death. Proceeds from the walk will go to a scholarship fund set up in Howard’s name.

While the scholarship criteria have not been set, Williams said, “We’re really focusing on diversity and programs that promote a better understanding of people within our community.”

He also said his foundation is planning a multicultural and diversity festival for a couple years down the road.

“There is so much culture in downtown Bangor, why not tap into that?” he said.