Community Seeks Justice 40 Years After Timothy Charles Lee's Death with Memorial Walk

CONCORD, Calif. - Rezul -- The family and community of Timothy Charles Lee will hold a walk of remembrance on the 40th anniversary of his death. The event aims to demand that his case be reopened, recognized, and reclassified as a hate crime, particularly a lynching.

On November 2, 1985, 23-year-old Timothy Charles Lee, a Black and Luiseño Rincon Native American gay man and a fashion student at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, was found hanging from a tree near the Concord BART station. Despite witness testimony hearing screams and seeing a group of men surrounding a person with a uniformed officer present, and despite two other Black men being stabbed by individuals in KKK robes that same night, his death was ruled a suicide within days.

"We walk for accountability as much as for remembrance," said Frank Sterling, Timothy's cousin. "The evidence was ignored, and we believe those responsible have never been held accountable."

"Timothy's death became a shadow for the entire Bay Area," said Maria Judice, a filmmaker documenting the case. "People stopped taking BART to Concord. The lynching was a spirit death to a community, a warning to anyone who wishes to freely move through the Bay Area as residents. In 2025, we are still fighting for law enforcement to investigate Timothy and recent lynchings as violent hate crimes."

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This case remains critically relevant today, as the fight for justice for Black and Indigenous victims of violence continues. Timothy's story is a stark reminder that historical acts of racial terror are not confined to the distant past and that the failure to properly investigate such crimes has a lasting legacy of pain and injustice. Honoring his life is part of the ongoing struggle to address systemic racism and ensure true accountability.

The coalition is gathering petition signatures to demand official action and is calling for anyone with information about the case to come forward.

Event Details:

What: 40 Years Too Long — A Walk of Remembrance for Timothy Charles Lee

Date: Sunday, November 2, 2025

Time: 2:30 PM Gather; 3:00 PM Walk

Location: Rainbow Community Center (2380 Salvio St, Concord). The walk ends at the Concord BART station for a speaker program.

For more information or to provide tips, visit the Facebook Page, email justice4timmy@gmail.com, or sign the petition on Change.org.

Media Contact:

Frank Sterling
justice4timmy@gmail.com
(925) 628-6206