Councilman Bogue Balks at Jonestown Monument

An effort is underway to establish a monument at an Oakland Cemetery in memory of the hundreds of individuals who lost their lives in the Jonestown Massacre. But at least one survivor wants nothing to do with it.

Dixon City Councilman Thom Bogue was present during the tragic events that happened on Nov. 18, 1978, in Guyana, South America. Bogue has family buried at Oakland’s Evergreen Cemetery, who died during the mass suicide ordered by People’s Temple leader Rev. Jim Jones.

But this doesn’t mean that Bogue wants to be part of the effort to resurrect the monument that’s being spurred by Jonestown Foundation, a group of individuals who had family that perished in Guyana.

“I don’t’ really have any feeling one way or the other,” he said. “It’s just something that one particular group has been working on for years and I guess they finally got the money to do it.”

When Rep. Leo Ryan visited the People’s Temple in Guyana on Nov. 18, 1978, Bogue and his sister took advantage of an opportunity to leave the church along with several others. But as Ryan, and the others made their way to the airfield where airplanes awaited to take them to the United States, farm gunners turned their weapons on the defectors.

The murderers killed Ryan during the attack along with several others. Bogue, his sister and Congresswoman Jackie Speier, then a congressional assistant to Ryan, were wounded but survived.  More than 900 commune members committed suicide on the orders of leader Jim Jones.

At Evergreen Cemetery, more than 400 members of the People’s Temple are buried. The Rev. Jynona Norwood - who lost her mother and 26 other family members in the mass suicide – and her Jonestown Foundation have designed a monument for the victims, many of who were from the Bay Area.

Norwood was joined Monday at the Oakland cemetery by the Rev. Leonard Jackson of First AME Church and others connected to the 918 infants, children, men and women who perished in the massacre. The proposed monument would exclude the name of Jones, who also died after manipulating his followers into drinking the poison-laced punch that killed the cult members.             

Norwood wants the monument to honor the 305 children and infants, along with others murdered.             

"To forget about the children and to even allow someone's name there that ordered 305 children to me murdered is unfathomable," Norwood said.

“If it helps to give people piece of mind then great, but for me personally, I have no feelings for it,” he said. “It’s one of those things that doesn’t affect me one way or another. Some people want … (Jones’ name on the monument), some people don’t. I understand both sides of that issue. They way that I look at is, whoever put the money up to build it, they should have the final say to do that.”

Bogue attended a meeting held by the Jonestown Foundation organizers last year. He said he didn’t like what he heard there.

“The groups were so contentious with each other,” he said. “It seemed more of a battleground than a recognition of what occurred. There was a lot of racism going on at the time, that’s not me. I’m not all into that. And honestly I can say I was very dismayed with what I observed. Whatever they do there, I don’t care. I’m not going to be part of it.”

Bogue said that the people talked about “How this white guy took all these black people to massacre out there.”

“There were a lot of other races there too, and just to pick one people out and hammer on it, I was just like ‘The hell with that,’” Bogue said.

Evergreen Cemetery director Ronald Haulman said there are structural issues with Norwood's monument proposal unrelated to its written content. Haulman said the size and weight of the granite design is not feasible for the space.

"It compromises the safety of the location," Haulman said of the proposed four-ton monument Norwood has requested be placed above the mass grave.

Nonetheless, Norwood, who has already put down $10,000 for the memorial's first panel, is still fighting for its construction.

In 2008, Norwood commissioned the monument at Marin Monument Company on Evergreen Cemetery's recommendation, but now she has been told her seven-panel proposal is unfit for the space and will not be approved.

"Evergreen has done an injustice to our children, our community," Norwood said. "This is just a second Jonestown, dishonoring the memory."         

A separate coalition, led by Jim Jones' adopted son, Jim Jones Jr., wants to erect a monument that includes the names of everyone who died  in Jonestown, including the elder Jones.              

"I'm not saying you should recognize Jim Jones; his actions were horrific," the younger Jones said. "But to leave his name off gives him more attention."              

Currently, a small gravestone marker memorializes the dead Jonestown members. Jones plans to include the existing marker in the memorial space, which his coalition – comprised of relatives of deceased members – hopes to build and complete by November.             

"You need a tribute, not a monument," Jones said. "Let's have a place to have healing."

Bay City News contributed to this report