Walking to BART yesterday, I noticed that the chain link fence at 41st and Broadway was covered in strips of fabric. A sign encouraged anyone walking by to:
“Tie a ribbon for love. Take some from this fabric rainbow. Thank you.”
A little further down, a heart had been created with photos of the people who died during the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12th.
The names of some of the people who had died and quotes about them, were written on triangular flags hanging from the top of the fence like this:
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado
“I’m sure you will continue to dance with the angels above pappi ♥“
The honest truth is that I barely read, or watched any coverage about what happened. It was just too much for me to handle. I consciously avoided it.
But this piece made me stop, tie a ribbon, and think about the people who had died and how they died. It caused me to go home that night and watch a video of Anderson Cooper talking about each person and feel the sadness and the horror.
To whoever created this healing art in Oakland: thank you.
Photos by me.