MONTEGO BAY, St James – A public march to engender goodwill, support and tolerance for persons living with HIV and AIDS is set to start at Montego Bay’s Howard Cooke park at 11:00 am today.

The march, which is being sponsored by the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life in Montego Bay, will see the participation of the Reverend Elder Nancy L Wilson, the openly lesbian presiding bishop of the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches.

A contingent of MCC leaders, including Reverend Pat Bumgardner, a social justice minister from New York City; Reverends. Robert Griffin and Michael Diaz, who serve on staff at Sunshine Cathedral MCC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jim Birkitt, human rights activist and writer, will also participate.

“It will be a historic first for the Montego Bay community,” a release from the MCC said.

Described as a walk for tolerance, the march will proceed from the Howard Cooke Boulevard to the Dump Up Beach at the end of Montego Bay’s popular Hip Strip.