Jonestown Memorial Unveiled In Oakland

OAKLAND (KCBS) – Despite years of financial troubles and controversy, a memorial to the victims of Jonestown containing the name of Reverend Jim Jones was unveiled at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland on Sunday.

Jones founded the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 1978 mass suicides of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana.

Survivors of Jonestown have been raising money and fighting for years to have the memorial, with a list of everyone's name on it who died at Jonestown.

Some of the surviving family members went to court to have Jones name removed, but a judge ruled this past week that his name could stay on the memorial.

KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:

Leslie Wagner Wilson, who lost 13 family members at Jonestown, managed to escape the morning of the massacre.

"I grew up in the church at the age of 13 and if I can forgive, part of my healing is forgiving and forgiving even Jim," she said. "I just want the wall up. It doesn't matter if Jim's name is on there or not."

The memorial consists of four plaques naming all those who died. There were about 200 mourners on hand for Sunday's unveiling.

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