News Releases

USM's Charlie Howard Project Unveiled During April Conference

March 17, 2004

2004 marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of Charlie Howard, a young man who was thrown to his death into the Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor because he was gay.

A joint project of the University of Southern Maine's Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity and Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, "Charlie Howard 20 Years Later: How Far Has Maine Come," strives to increase public awareness and discussion around the prejudice and violence directed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.

The project will kickoff with a free, public conference, slated for Friday and Saturday, April 2 and 3, that will begin at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the First Parish Church, 425 Congress St., Portland. That evening, Mary Bonauto, from the Boston offices of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), and lead attorney in the Massachusetts court ruling on the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry, will give the keynote address. Maine's Attorney General Steven Rowe and USM President Richard Pattenaude also will speak. The Maine Gay Men's Chorus will perform "The Kenduskeag Trilogy," and a traveling exhibition based on the holdings of USM's LGBT Collection, "Charlie Howard 20 Years Later: How Far Has Maine Come," will be dedicated. A reception will follow. The evening's events are free and open to the public.

From 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 3, the free conference continues in USM's Luther Bonney Auditorium on the Portland campus with panel dicussions on "1984, What Happened?" "How Far Has Maine Come?" and "Where Do We Go From Here?" Presenters will include conference organizers Howard Solomon, from USM's LGBT Collection, and Steve Wessler of USM's Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, among other USM professors and staff. Break out sessions will feature representatives from Outright, MLGPA, Portland Public Health Division, Maine attorneys, and Bangor Theological Seminary.

The conference will conclude with a candle-lighting ceremony at 3:45 p.m. on the Luther Bonney Hall lawn, led by Nancy Bouchard, Bangor Theological Seminary, Bill Gordon, Northern Lights Metropolitan Community Church in Augusta and Andrea Thompson-McCall, USM's interfaith chaplain.

There is a fund-raising effort supporting the "Charlie Howard Project," with the hopes of holding similar mini-conferences throughout the state, as well as developing curricular materials for use in middle and high school classroms in order to reduce anit-gay bias, harassment, and violence.

All events on April 2 and 3 are free and open to the public, including lunch on Saturday, but reservations are required by calling 780-4756, www.cphv.usm.maine.edu.

Editor's Note: To arrange interviews with conference organizers Howard Solomon and Steven Wessler please call Bob Caswell or Judie O'Malley at 780-4200. We also can be reached at home, 839-6402 (O'Malley) and 839-2026 (Caswell). A conference schedule follows this release.

"CHARLIE HOWARD TWENTY YEARS LATER: HOW FAR HAS MAINE COME"
A Community Education project at USM, consisting of:
A public conference, on April 2-3, 2004;
A traveling exhibition and curricula for middle and high schools;
and A series of community conversations held throughout Maine.

Organized by the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered Collection of the Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine housed in USM's Glickman Family Library, and USM's Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence.

FRIDAY, APRIL 2
7 p.m., First Parish Church, 425 Congress St., Portland.

REMARKS: Steven Rowe, Attorney General, State of Maine and Richard Pattenaude, President, University of Southern Maine.

KEYNOTE: Mary Bonauto (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders), lead attorney in the Massachusetts ruling on same-sex marriage.

"THE KENDUSKEAG TRILOGY" will be performed by the Maine Gay Men's Chorus.

DEDICATION OF TRAVELING EXHIBITION: "Charlie Howard Twenty Years Later: How Far Has Maine Come."

REFRESHMENTS AND RECEPTION

SATURDAY, APRIL 3
USM's Luther Bonney Hall, Portland.

8-8:30 a.m., Registration, coffee, tea, bagels.

8:30-8:45 a.m., Opening remarks, Howard Solomon, USM's LGBT Collection.

8:45-10 a.m., Panel, "1984: What Happened, " moderated by USM's Julien Murphy and featuring Dwight Cathcart, author of "Ceremonies" (2003 Violet Quill Award winner. A friend of Charlie Howard), Dale McCormick, Treasurer, State of Maine (founding Pres., MLGPA), among others.

10-10:15 a.m. Break

10:15-11 a.m. Breakout Session I: small group discussions "Hate Crime and Law Enforcement," "LGBTQ Youth," "Revitalizing Community Activism," "Campus Issues," "Keeping History and Memory Alive," "Charlie Howard in a National Context," "Issues for Social Service Providers," "Creating a Permanent Memorial," "Transsexual/Transgender Issues," "Antigay Violence and the Media," "Hate Violence and Class Issues," "Classroom Issues," "HIV/AIDS and Hate Violence."

11:15-12:30 p.m., Panel, "1984-2004: How Far Has Maine Come?" moderated by USM's Wendy Chapkis, and featuring Marvin Ellison, author of "Same Sex Marriage" (Bangor Theological Seminary), among others.

12:30-1:15 p.m. Lunch

1:15-2:00 p.m. Break-Out Session II: small group discussions. (Same topics as Break-Out Session I)

2:15-3:30 p.m. Panel, "Where Do We go From Here?" featuring Lyndon Cudlitz from Outright, Attorney Brenda Buchanan, and others.

3:30-3:45 p.m., Concluding remarks, Steve Wessler, USM's Center for Prevention of Hate Violence.

3:45 p.m. Candle-lighting ceremony honoring the memory of Charlie Howard and other victims of antigay violence and discrimination led by Nancy Bouchard, Bangor Theological Seminary; Bill Gordon, Pastor, Northern Lights Metropolitan Community Church; and Andrea Thompson-McCall, USM's Interfaith Chaplain.

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