BANGOR, Maine — Dozens of people gathered in downtown Bangor Sunday to honor Charlie Howard, who was murdered in Bangor 40 years ago for being gay.
On July 7, 1984, Howard was walking down State Street with his boyfriend when three teenagers approached them yelling homophobic slurs.
They threw Howard off the State Street bridge railing into the Kenduskeag Stream, where he drowned. He was 23 years old.
On the 40th anniversary of his death, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor held a remembrance service in his honor, this year in collaboration with the Health Equity Alliance, the Penobscot Theatre Company, and Needlepoint Sanctuary.
After a service at the UU Church, a procession made its way down Park Street to the bridge where Howard was killed.
Attendees dropped flowers into the Kenduskeag Stream to honor his lost life.
"We're here today because so many of us were touched by what happened," Gia Drew, the executive director of EqualityMaine said. "That light that was inside of Charlie was passed on to another person, to another person, and another."
The ceremony mirrored the memorial at the Unitarian Church in Bangor in 1984, days after Howard was killed, when more than 200 people gathered to remember him.
Lee Giles was there in 1984 and in 2024, continuing to honor Howard 40 years later.
"I remember how shocked we were and hurt," Giles said.
Giles remembers Howard as a very nice young man.
"He was pleasant, funny, big smile, nice to people, you know reached out, he was a nice kid," she said.
Howard’s murder was a tragedy, but it was also a catalyst for change.
It galvanized the LGBTQ+ movement in Maine and led to the formation of the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance, now EqualityMaine.
The organization fights for laws to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
"So many more people have been involved in making LGBTQ people feel safe and seen and valid here in the state of Maine," Drew said.
While this tragedy happened 40 years ago and a lot of progress has been made since then, the community is still fighting to make sure that what happened to Howard never happens to anyone ever again.
"Not everyone feels safe at school, or at home, or at work, so we are still fighting to make sure every single one of us who are LGBTQ gets to be themselves wherever they live," Drew said.
Reverend Andrew Moeller, who leads the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, said there is particular room for progress in religious groups, as some communities are unwilling to recognize people with different sexual and gender identities.
"Hatred and vitriol can destroy a life, can prevent somebody from being the beautiful person, the amazing person they are," he said. "It reminds us that we still have a long way to go."
Howard’s legacy lives on in those working to create a world where all LGBTQ+ people can live without fear and in peace.