'A cenotaph, not a park': updates made to Montreal park honouring the victims of HIV/AIDS
The updated “Parc de l’Espoir” was inaugurated Wednesday morning, with changes aimed at fortifying the park’s original purpose: to honour and celebrate the memory of Quebecers affected by HIV/AIDS.
Three of the park’s founders joined together with city officials, including Mayor Valérie Plante, to witness the inauguration.
“I am very proud of this redevelopment,” said the mayor. “I invite all Montrealers to rediscover this exceptional place.”
The park was originally founded in 1991 by the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), with the intention of honouring HIV/AIDS patients who had passed away from the disease.
During the AIDS epidemic, funeral directors were known to refuse services for the bodies of AIDS victims due to fear of contamination.
“At the time, we were not allowed to bury our dead in regular funeral homes. No one would touch the cadavers,” said Michael Hendricks, one of the park's founders. “So, you could never have a real funeral. So, we decided to have those funerals here.”
In place of traditional funerals, community members hung black ribbons and flowers from the trees.
The space, which had previously been a vacant lot, quickly became a gathering place.
“We started that idea, to take care of that empty space, a ‘terrain vague,'" said René LeBoeuf, another founder. “We said ‘bon, we’re going to do something.’”
Hendricks says the space allowed community members to speak openly about the disease during a time of widespread stigma.
“While it was quite sad, it was also very open and joyous,” he said. “In the sense that you could talk openly about HIV, which you couldn’t anywhere else.”
“It was a fight, but at the same time it was full of hope. We knew that we're dying, but we’re still alive,” said another founder of the park, Roger Le Clerc.
Black ribbons commemorating victims of HIV/AIDS are shown hanging from a tree in the parc de l'Espoir, decades ago. (City of Montreal)Black ribbons commemorating victims of HIV/AIDS are shown hanging from a tree in the parc de l'Espoir, decades ago. (Source: City of Montreal)
A LEGACY THAT MUST BE MAINTAINED
“It was such a horrific period,” says Shawn Dearn, a journalist who is covering the parc de l’Espoir in an upcoming documentary.
“I think what needs to be recognized and underscored the most in all of this is, [is that] this is not a park. This is a cenotaph — you know, this is the gay and bisexual community’s war memorial to the thousands of people who died because of HIV and AIDS in Quebec. And I think that that’s important,” says Dearn.
Dearn says that for many years after the park’s creation advocates fought tirelessly with the city to have the park maintained, faced with persistent stigma surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and the AIDS epidemic.
“For decades, [the community] has been crying for the city to take better care of this park. And now they finally have, so it’s incumbent upon the community, and it’s incumbent upon city bureaucrats and the elected officials to make sure that it is maintained, and that it is preserved — and that it’s history.”
NEW ADDITIONS
Practical changes to the park include wider sidewalks and an increase in vegetation to reduce the effects of heat islands.
Other changes were put in place to honour the park’s roots, such as a painted red ribbon that runs across its grounds. The red ribbon is a universal symbol for the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Dearn says some advocates thought the ribbon should be black, maintaining the original practice of hanging black ribbon.
“The folks who created the park didn’t initially go for red ribbons,” he says. “Gay and lesbian and bisexual Montrealers wanted black ribbons — they thought the red ribbon was too cliche and too American.”
A commemorative plaque was also installed in memory of Quebecers who died from HIV/AIDS. Le Clerc says the commemorative aspects of the park are important to maintain the park’s legacy for future generations.
“I hope the park will stay as a place to remember and a place to get together,” he said, "because when we get together, we can do a lot.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
The UN warns Sudan's warring parties that Darfur risks starvation and death if aid isn't allowed in
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.