Our own vigil at Block 14

Sue has not had her second vaccination yet, so we were reluctant to ride a bus to the vigil and be around many people, even outside, masked, and distanced. Instead we walked to Lone Fir Cemetery and lit candles at Block 14, where over 1000 Asian workers were buried in unmarked graves from 1841 to the 1920s, along with the bodies of people who died in what was then called an "insane asylum." The history of white supremacy and exploitation of the labor of poor people of color is long and vile. It is ironic that the USA has been called the "Land of the Free," when it was built on genocide, slavery, and the backs of people who were underpaid or not paid at all for their labor. This needs to be said.

There are plans to build a memorial garden at Block 14, but so far as we know, the money has not been allocated to carry out this plan. There is a small granite marker next to a large empty lot. We placed our candles on the marker, and when we finished walking through the cemetery we took them home with us.