A woman lays flowers at a student memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Orit Ben-Ezzer via ZUMA Wire
After the slaughter in Parkland, Florida, last week, an enormous memorial was set up outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High to mourn the 17 people killed at the school. But as survivors began speaking out—planning a series of demonstrations next month and a national walkout in April—sympathetic mourners around the nation have created makeshift memorials of their own.
In a 1997 paper, Texas professor C. Allen Haney called spontaneous memorials an “emerging American mourning ritual,” a way to mark a place as sacred. Yet that ritual is evolving as memorials are erected in solidarity. We saw it when people commemorated 9/11, the 2015 Paris attacks, and the attacks on Brussels in 2016. Here, now, are some of the far-flung places where people have stepped up to commemorate the victims of Florida’s latest mass shooting.
San Francisco
https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/966072659669733376
Someone put up a makeshift memorial to the #Parkland victims in our neighborhood park in San Francisco. There is a flowering branch and a card with the name and age of each person who died. It’s moving and just incredibly sad. #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/DLEfsPPni3
— 🏳️🌈 David Lytle 🏳️🌈 (@davitydave) February 21, 2018
Emerald Isle, North Carolina
An Emerald Isle memorial for the 17 vicitims of the Parkland, FL shooting. pic.twitter.com/vbyuf1wILj
— Bailey Martin (@BaileyBMartin) February 20, 2018
Orlando, Florida
At the memorial outside Pulse Orlando, which is still up but surrounded by a memorial that thousands have signed. A surreal sight. The final photo shows roses covering names of the Parkland shooting victims from Wednesday. “49 from Orlando to Parkland 17, you are in our hearts.” pic.twitter.com/exaccr6vWh
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 17, 2018
Pulse today: at the base of the sign an impromptu memorial for the #Douglas 17 & survivors
Love from #OrlandoStrong#Parkland pic.twitter.com/tBKM4M0Ijs— 🎭 Coco Pazzo 🎭 (@CocoPazzo) February 18, 2018
North Montgomery, Indiana
https://twitter.com/NMHS_FACS/status/965985256078798848
Bettendorf, Iowa
Muslim Community of the Quad Cities holds memorial ceremony for victims of Parkland, Florida shooting https://t.co/5YUPX6vF7R pic.twitter.com/ZkvEn6V5Oj
— WQAD (@wqad) February 19, 2018
New York City
One of the student victims, 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, was a “passionate dancer” who loved the color orange, as Broward County’s Sun-Sentinel reports. To honor her life, dancers across the country—in professional companies, at competitions, and in class—wore orange ribbons while they performed.
Menifee, California
Adrian, Michigan
#Adrian High School students walked out today to hold a memorial and protest as part of a nation-wide reaction to the Parkland school shooting. The students stayed outside for 17 minutes, 1 minute for each life lost in the shooting. #instagram https://t.co/E0VSbTlfuL pic.twitter.com/wgYW2hciFb
— The Daily Telegram (@lenaweenews) February 21, 2018
