Forty years ago, three teenagers killed Charlie Howard for being openly gay in Bangor.
The Sunday anniversary of Howard’s death comes 15 days after organizers of the Bangor Pride Festival said they drew a record crowd downtown.
That progress is not lost on LGBTQ+ advocates in the city who are planning a larger memorial this weekend that is aimed at giving the community time to reflect on what life was like in Howard’s era and changes that are still needed.
“While there may be safety in numbers, I can only imagine what it was like for Charlie back in the day, to just be who he was and living unapologetically, to then what happened to him,” Orion Tucker, director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for the Health Equity Alliance, said. “Fast forwarding, I think there’s a lot of hope.”
Howard, who was 23, was killed on July 7, 1984, thrown over a bridge into the Kenduskeag Stream by Daniel Ness, 17, Shawn I. Mabry, 16, and James Francis Baines, 15.
People will march through the streets of Bangor on Sunday to the memorial for Howard to commemorate his life and death. After the two processions from the Hammond Street Congregational Church and Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, the crowd will gather at Howard’s memorial at 11:30 a.m. The permanent memorial is near Hammond Street bridge over the Kenduskeag Stream, opposite the Norumbega Parkway.
This year will be a larger gathering than previous years because it’s the 40th anniversary, Tucker said. EqualityMaine and local community organizations will be in attendance.
A donated wreath from Bangor Floral will be placed in the Kenduskeag Stream in honor of Howard, a yearly tradition, and attendees will receive a flower to place in the stream. A moment of silence will also be held.
After taking time for speeches at the memorial, people will gather at The Stage Door to share stories and continue conversations, he said.
“There’s a lot of people in our community who remember Charlie, they either remember him personally, they had connections to him personally, or they just remember him walking around town, and they remember the news,” Tucker said.
On July 7, 1984, Howard and friend Roy Ogden were walking arm-in-arm when Mabry drove by with Ness, Baines and two girls in the car. One of the boys asked if Howard and Ogden were gay. The verbal confrontation escalated, then Howard and Ogden ran across State Street with the teenagers pursuing them. Howard tripped and fell. Ness, Mabry and Baines kicked Howard and threw him off the bridge into the Kenduskeag Stream.
He told his attackers he could not swim and shouted for help. The teenagers drove away, and Ogden pulled a nearby fire alarm.
Howard’s body was recovered shortly after midnight Sunday, July 8, in about 3 feet of water south of the State Street bridge. He died by drowning, with an acute asthma attack as a contributing factor, according to his autopsy.
The three boys were charged with murder. They pleaded guilty to manslaughter Oct. 1, 1984. Only Baines has been outspoken about his role in the crime in the years since. In the 1990s, he spoke to high school students about tolerance and testified for anti-discrimination bills in Augusta.
During the last 40 years, Bangor has grappled with the impact of Howard’s death and the notoriety it brought the city.
“We’re on the map because of what happened to Charlie,” Tucker said. “How can we change the perception? How can we come together to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again in our community?”
