The wife of Mayor Kevin Faulconer and a longtime gay rights activist Thursday announced the formation of a task force to raise money to create an AIDS memorial in San Diego.
The group is co-chaired by Katherine Stuart Faulconer and Nicole Murray- Ramirez, who serves on the city's Human Rights Commission.
"It is important for our young people that we remember the past while looking to the future of AIDS in San Diego," Faulconer said. "A permanent site will enable the thousands of friends and family of those passed to reflect upon the lives of those passed."
The two also announced a March 26 concert to raise funds for the project, which organizers say will be a place of remembrance and reflection for friends and family of the 8,000 or so San Diegans who have died from AIDS.
"After years of losing friends and loved ones, it is time for us to reflect upon the fight against the stigma and bigotry that people with AIDS experienced over the last 30 years," Ramirez said.
The task force will not only call for about $30,000 in donations, but determine a location for the memorial, solicit designs and arrange an unveiling ceremony.
The announcement was made at Mama's Kitchen, which provides meals to AIDS and cancer patients.
