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What Happened To AIDS Memorial Park?

July 3 marks the 43rd anniversary of a seemingly innocuous headline printed in The NY Times: “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals”. It was the first time what would later come to be known as AIDS was mentioned in a national publication. Of course, the LGBTQIA community was already discussing the “gay plague” which brought with it fear and uncertainty. Despite the national attention, it would take almost four more years for then President Reagan to even utter the word ‘AIDS’.

That period saw the queer community consistently ignored, blamed, and ostracized. Many viewed it as simply a disease of the “undesirable.” AIDS would eventually kill well over 100,000 US individuals prior to the discovery of a successful treatment in 1996; generations of gay men, people living with drug addiction, hemophiliacs and people of color. Treatment for AIDS eventually came, but not without the courageous and powerful action of groups such as ACT Up, who challenged the government under a paradigm shift of community activism.

Many of us know that Jamestown was certainly not immune to HIV/AIDS. In the mid-90s Jamestown made national news with the reality that the disease had hit home, specifically affecting innocent victims of Nushawn Williams. This story remains a cautionary tale for many county residents. As Washington Post writer Jennifer Frey wrote in 1999, Jamestown illustrated to the world that “what happened here was supposed to serve as proof that AIDS can happen to anyone, anywhere.”

In the late 1990s Potters Terrace became a beacon of hope and remembrance, hosting vigils for those lost. Eventually community advocates established a formal memorial, and Potters Terrace became AIDS Memorial Park. Unfortunately, like the queer community during the AIDS crisis and beyond, the park was ignored by city officials over the next decades, becoming unrecognizable and disheveled. City, and later Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC) officials, who today own the park, did not engage in maintenance of the memorial. Name plaques were stolen, or broken, and not replaced. Those in power settled into a state of indifference.

I did not grow up familiar with the history of AIDS park; like so many here in my community I didn’t pay it much thought. However, in 2016 I read ‘The Normal Heart’ a play by Larry Kramer, and eventually began to consume a plethora of impactful media related to the epidemic. I am a firm believer that, as with many tragedies throughout history, if we ignore it, we stand to repeat it.

In 2018 I was part of a meeting at the JRC which broached the topic of renovations to “Potter’s Terrace”; not because the memorial had been ignored for far too long, but because the park was unsafe structurally. I, a young and naive community leader, asked why the JRC refused to acknowledge the park as AIDS Memorial, and suggested the community come together to rebuild it as such. My input was quickly shot down. The message was made clear to me: the community members once memorialized would continue to be left in the shadows. Jamestown leaders did not want to acknowledge both our history, and more importantly, our loved ones lost.

It was only after a petition to re-dedicate the memorial received over 300 signatures did the JRC seek public comment in 2019. And yet, the JRC board did not listen. The park was renovated, and beautiful flowers and new benches certainly made the space more inviting than years previous.

But the question of when the AIDS memorial will be re-established remains. Discussions have been had here and there; I’ve even been told by some that the LGBTQIA community “no longer sees the need”; I know this to be untrue. The reality is re-establishment of AIDS Memorial is simply not a priority for Jamestown leadership. Almost three years since the park’s renovations began there has been no progress on that front, let alone attempts to engage community input.

Many may feel this is the responsibility of the queer community of Jamestown. I have felt this way too, but after many discussions with my friends, and colleagues, I have realized many in the queer community find such attempts futile. Wouldn’t you? Jamestown leadership have made clear with their inaction that AIDS Memorial simply doesn’t matter.

Others may say, “AIDS isn’t a problem anymore, so who cares?” And to that I say, the disease continues to kill and impact thousands of individuals across our country and the world each year. Despite advances in treatment and changes in attitudes from governments and health organizations, the fight continues. In fact, NYS has just proposed a $5.3 million cut to HIV outreach, education, diagnosis, and treatment programs. Advocates within ACT Up and other groups continue the fight for acknowledgement to this day.

I do not blame local individuals for staying silent on the matter. While Jamestown has witnessed victories with the establishment of the Jamestown Pride Festival and the past election of a gay mayor, recent refusals by City Council to fly the Pride flag illustrate our fight continues in Jamestown as well.

Those with leadership positions and inherent privilege can make decisions that acknowledge all members of our community. This needn’t be so difficult. The JRC and their funders the Gebbie Foundation, hold all the power when it comes to AIDS Memorial Park. As a friend has put it “a sign could be posted over a weekend”, and what a powerful first step it could be.

True allyship lies in action. As I reflect on our country’s history with the AIDS epidemic, a reckoning that began July 3, 1981, with a small article buried within the NY Times, I wonder when will action come? Will our friends, family members and neighbors one day be memorialized again? And will our city leaders be even half as brave as the AIDS activists of yesteryear, and lead the charge?

Linnea Haskin is a Jamestown resident.

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