wearing make up, jewelry and feminine accessories, he did so. Ĭharlie lived at a time when most homosexuals were still closeted, but Charlie was "out" and even flamboyant. Eventually Charlie took an apartment on First Street, near his church, and adopted a kitten. In thanks for their support, Charlie prepared an Easter dinner for Paul and Scott and decorated their home. Here he made new friends and was accepted for who he was. He joined the local supportive Unitarian Church on Union Street as well as the Bangor support group Interweave. Ĭharlie returned - in high spirits and determined. When he called his two friends in Bangor, they realized Charlie was hurting and invited him to come back to Bangor. He had a brief relationship that ended quickly.
Ĭharlie was not home a week when he knew he could not stay. After a month, Charlie's opportunities were nil and Scott and Paul convinced him to return home to Portsmouth to live with his mother and stepfather. Charlie was homeless with no prospects and Scott and Paul welcomed Charlie into their home.
In Bangor, Paul Noddin and Scott Hamilton befriended Charlie. When the relationship that he was in ended in January 1984, Charlie left Ellsworth for Bangor, Maine. Ĭharlie left Portsmouth, New Hampshire and eventually landed in Ellsworth, Maine. With his poor grades, he knew college was not for him. He did not attend his graduation to spare his family from the taunts he often received. He was often made fun of as a small child, and was bullied in high school due to his sexual orientation. A young, fair-haired man, Charlie was small boned and suffered from asthma. The library is open to the public.Ĭharlie Howard was from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Maine Speakout Project maintains the Charlie Howard Memorial Library in Portland, Maine. On July 7, 2004, a twentieth anniversary walk was held in memory of Howard. The Bangor City Council and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT) community have erected a monument along the Kenduskeag Stream honoring the memory of Charlie Howard as the victim of a hate crime. The Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance, which later became EqualityMaine, was formed in part as a reaction to Howard's death. His story, Penitence: A True Story by Edward Armstrong, was published, although he received no royalties from the book. As an adult James (Jim) Baines later spoke to various groups in Maine about his involvement in the murder and the damage that intolerance can do to people and their community. This event galvanized the Bangor community in ways similar to the killing of Matthew Shepard, although the case never attained the same level of national notoriety. Charlie Howard's body was found by rescue workers several hours later.
He drowned, but his boyfriend escaped and pulled a fire alarm. The youths chased the couple, yelling homophobic epithets, until they caught Howard and threw him over the State Street Bridge into the Kenduskeag Stream, despite his pleas that he could not swim. Mabry, age 16, James Francis Baines, age 15, and Daniel Ness, age 17, harassed, assaulted, and murdered Howard for being gay. As Howard and his boyfriend, Roy Ogden, were walking down the street, three teenagers, Shawn I. Howard (Janu– July 7, 1984) was an American murder victim in Bangor, Maine in 1984.