AIDS Memorial Erected in Indiana’s Crown Hill Cemetery
About 200 AIDS activists and survivors of AIDS victims gathered Sunday at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Marion County, Ind., to dedicate the new Indiana AIDS Memorial, the first permanent AIDS monument in an American cemetery, the Indianapolis Star/News reports. Created by Indianapolis artist Guy Grey, the 10-foot bronze sculpture features two clasped hands in the shape of an AIDS ribbon. The memorial also includes two limestone tablets engraved with the names of people from Indiana who have died of AIDS-related illnesses. According to the Star, more than 4,000 Indiana residents died from AIDS-related diseases between 1982 and 1999. "This is a reminder [that] the HIV pandemic is not over," Michael Wallace, head of the Indiana AIDS Fund, said, adding, "In 2001, 40,000 new HIV infections will occur in the [United States]." The Indiana AIDS Fund and the Joseph F. Miller Foundation funded the memorial (Nancrede, Indianapolis Star/News, 10/30).
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