A memorial to Jonestown at last
This country proudly fills plazas and parks with memorials to mark the past. History and those that made it get their due in bronze, granite, and here-lies inscriptions.
But what happens to nearly a thousand Americans who died in a faraway place, nearly all of them poor, idealistic and cut off from the mainstream? For the followers of Jim Jones who died in a failing plantation in Guyana, the answer is nothing. Their faces, names and stories are forgotten. A sorry chapter in human history is never pondered because it's never encountered.
For Jynona Norwood, who lost 27 family members in the mass killings, it's a result that must change. She's the driving force behind plans for a marble memorial to those who died 30 years ago, come tomorrow. At the Evergreen Cemetery at the foot of the Oakland hills, she plans to debut the first stages of a sweeping monument to commemorate the dead.
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But what happens to nearly a thousand Americans who died in a faraway place, nearly all of them poor, idealistic and cut off from the mainstream? For the followers of Jim Jones who died in a failing plantation in Guyana, the answer is nothing. Their faces, names and stories are forgotten. A sorry chapter in human history is never pondered because it's never encountered.
For Jynona Norwood, who lost 27 family members in the mass killings, it's a result that must change. She's the driving force behind plans for a marble memorial to those who died 30 years ago, come tomorrow. At the Evergreen Cemetery at the foot of the Oakland hills, she plans to debut the first stages of a sweeping monument to commemorate the dead.