‘This should not be normal’: Kansas Citians hold vigil to honor victims of Uvalde massacre
Amid a national debate on guns, dozens of Kansas City residents gathered Tuesday for a candlelight vigil organized to honor the 19 schoolchildren and two teachers shot and killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
About 30 people gathered for a brief remembrance ceremony inside the Latinx Education Collaborative office at 2203 Lexington Avenue in Kansas City’s Pendleton Heights neighborhood, where photographs of the children and teachers were shown on big-screen televisions. Candles were passed out to the attendees and placed alongside a painted mural on the side of the brick building.
Twenty-one people were killed as was the gunman and several more were injured after another mass shooting that has again raised calls for changes to firearm purchases and possession in the U.S. The killings hit especially close to home for many Hispanic and Latino people, including in Kansas City, said Edgar Palacios, the founder and director of the organization.
“It’s hard to look at the news and see kids that were murdered brutally in a classroom,” Palacios said. “And it’s hard to see that it could be your own children, your own cousins, your own family.”
Children and their families often live in fear that they may too become victims of gun violence when they head off to school, said Christy Moreno, a community advocacy and impact officer for Revolución EDucativa. Many are struggling with the impacts that come in the wake of those tragedies, and those stresses are further compounded by the issues simultaneously faced by people of color amid pushes for social and racial justice, Moreno said.
Through the vigil, Moreno said she hoped those attending would walk away with a stronger commitment to ensure kids can lead healthy and happy lives.
“It is time to do something about gun violence,” Moreno said. “My own children are terrified to step outside. Experienced four lockdowns this year alone in the schools (because of) weapons inside school buildings. And this should not be normal.”
One by one, Rev. Patrick McLaughlin of the Church of the Resurrection read aloud the names of the slain children. He asked that after the reading of each name, those in attendance reply with “presente” — Spanish for “present” — as a sign that those killed are still here in spirit.
“They’re still with us. They’re alive inside of each and every one of you,” said McLaughlin, who noted that firearms are the leading cause of death for U.S. children.
Among those attending the vigil Tuesday was Denise Souza, of Kansas City, who brought her one-year-old daughter. A former teacher in Denver and Kansas City Public Schools, Souza said she decided to leave her job after the tragedy in Uvalde.
For five years, Souza worked in dual language programs. She returned to her hometown of Kansas City in part because she wanted to continue that career path. Now, she said teachers are faced with overwhelming stress and danger — and she is thinking of homeschooling her own daughter when the time comes.
“That could have happened to me. It could have happened to my colleagues. It could have happened to my students, and I know that it can because that’s just the reality of this world,” Souza said.
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 7:49 AM.
