Project Completed

About a hundred people showed up this evening to honor the memory of Keaton Otis and others killed by police. Here's Sharita Towne, the artist whose vision guided the creation of the memorial, in which gold paint covered the cracks in the pavement in the style of Kintsugi. In this moment a little after dusk, right after the speech by Keaton Otis's sister,  Sharita sat quietly on the sidewalk, her eyes brimming with tears and, I imagine, a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion. Behind her to the left is the plaque set into the sidewalk with Keaton Otis's name inscribed in gold, surrounded by marigolds. 

There were speeches, songs, poems, hip hop performances, a drum solo, and more. There were posters, T-shirts, flowers, candles, free books for adults and children, free Cajun food (meat, vegetarian, and vegan), free water, free chalk for writing names on the sidewalks, and several public toilets. The event was live-streamed, and just about every person who attended made photos and videos (see Extras). 

It was beautifully organized, deeply emotional, powerful. Our air has been unhealthy for the past several days, smoggy with smoke from forest fires, and there was some fear the event would have to be cancelled, but the air cleared up today from "unhealthy" to "moderate," and the event went forward.

I hope to have some time to catch up with Blip tomorrow.