Long Beach will consider creating a memorial for those who have died from AIDS after the City Council voted Tuesday night to begin exploring how much such a monument would cost.
The city has a rich LGBTQ+ history and is in the process of creating a cultural corridor to honor the community’s historical contributions, and an AIDS memorial could build on that effort.
According to a report published by the city’s health department in 2020, 252 Long Beach residents died while living with the virus between 2016 and 2020 with an additional 100 or more being newly diagnosed with HIV in the same timeframe.
At the time of the report, Long Beach had a higher new HIV infection rate (21 per 100,000 residents) than Los Angeles (16 per 100,000). It was more than double the state’s rate of 10 cases per 100,000 people.
Councilmember Cindy Allen, who asked for the feasibility report on the memorial, said such a monument would help recognize the lives lost and create a space where friends and family could remember those who have died.
“And by sharing the story of the struggle against HIV and AIDS, we remember in perpetuity the lives lost and we offer healing and hope to survivors, and we inspire a new generation of activists in the fight against the stigma, the denial and the hate,” Allen said.
Councilmember Megan Kerr, who co-sponsored the request, recalled one of her high school teachers who got her to attend an AIDS march in 1989.
“He died of AIDS-related complications three years after we graduated,” Kerr said. “So, it’s deeply personal for so many people in this room.”
Other California cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Palm Springs already have memorials in place or in the works, with Palm Springs working to finalize a design.
It’s unclear how much a memorial could cost, what it would look like or how the city would pay for it. Allen’s item noted that funding would have to be found for the planning, design and construction of the project.
If the project does eventually move forward, public meetings to get input from residents on what the memorial should include are expected to be held in advance of a design being presented to the City Council for approval, according to Allen’s request.