For over 35 years, there has been a campaign for San Diego to join cities across North America to establish an AIDS Memorial honoring and remembering the over 8,500 men, women, and children who have died of AIDS. Now, Mayor Todd Gloria and the City of San Diego with the San Diego AIDS Memorial Task Force are making plans for the official groundbreaking ceremony to be held this month with the completion and dedication to held in 2024.
A San Diego AIDS Memorial has been the long-time dream of City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez who has chaired three official Task Forces under Mayors Susan Golding, Kevin Faulconer and now Mayor Gloria. Commissioner Ramirez’s co-chair for the last seven years has been the former First Lady of San Diego Katherine Stuart Faulconer with its vice-chair being San Diego AIDS Walk founder, City Commissioner Susan Jester.
The AIDS Memorial will be built in the new Olive Street Park acquisition development which will also play a major part in the groundbreaking in the Bankers Hill Neighborhood.
The San Diego AIDS Memorial will include four huge memorial boulders with four plaques with the history of the AIDS Crisis in San Diego, a list of AIDS organizations and heroes/activists. There will also be panels with audio playback at interpretive signs and panels in English and Spanish.
The San Diego AIDS Memorial Task Force is also working on a proposed “Memorial Tree” which people can put a “leaf” with the name of a loved one lost to AIDS.
“This has been almost four decades of the determination and love of many San Diegans who want us to never forget those over 8,500 people who died of AIDS,” stated Commissioner Ramirez. “This campaign definitely ‘took a village’ and the unwavering support of three mayors and a passionate First Lady.”
We have long needed an AIDs memorial to honor those we lost and those who gave so much support. I acknowledge and appreciate NMR for pursuing this effort for so long. My preference would have been another location more visible to the broader community but so be it. As to the boulder design…. well not a fan. I wish there was more creativity to it and would have hoped that an open competition for artists and others was held.
Dear Editor,
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for publishing the article about the campaign to establish an AIDS Memorial in San Diego. It is heartening to see that Mayor Todd Gloria and the City of San Diego, along with the San Diego AIDS Memorial Task Force, are taking the initiative to honor and remember the over 8,500 men, women, and children who have lost their lives to AIDS.
It is a poignant reminder of the devastating impact that this disease has had on our community and it is only fitting that we take the time to pay homage to those who have suffered and passed away. The planned groundbreaking ceremony is an important step towards ensuring that the memory of these individuals will live on forever.
I truly believe that this memorial will serve as a symbol of hope and resilience for future generations and it is my hope that it will also serve as a reminder to work towards finding a cure for AIDS.
Once again, thank you for bringing attention to this important cause and I look forward to the official groundbreaking ceremony and the completion and dedication of the memorial in 2024.
Sincerely,
Mady