Bay Area African American leaders have launched a fund-raising campaign for a Jonestown memorial wall at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland.

They're aiming to unveil the memorial Nov. 18, the 17th anniversary of the suicide- murders of 914 men, women and children at cult leader Jim Jones' compound in the Guyanan rain forest.

First, though, there's the matter of raising $35,000 for the 20-foot-long, 6-foot-tall wall, on which the names of all the victims would be inscribed.

"We have a duty to ensure that the legacy does not perish," said Kola Thomas of the Center for African-American Art and Culture in San Francisco.

Fund raising for a memorial wall has gone on fitfully for several years, but Tuesday's announcement marked the first unified effort by the African American community to get the job done.

A total of 406 victims who followed Jones and his Peoples Temple from San Francisco to Jonestown are buried in a mass grave at Evergreen Cemetery. The site is marked by one modest headstone.

That headstone was placed by retired San Francisco butcher Fred Lewis, whose wife and seven children died at Jonestown. He is taking a leading role in raising funds for the monument, as is his niece, the Rev. Jynona Norwood, a Los Angeles minister.

Donations may be made payable to Jonestown Memorial Wall Fund, Account 103347, and forwarded to Allen Temple Baptist Church Federal Credit Union, 8500 A St., Oakland, CA 94621

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