In the early hours of June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen walked into Latin Night at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida and opened fire. This attack on the LGBTQ community—more specifically, the Latinx queer community—took 49 lives and injured many more.
One year later, people around the world continue to grieve, mourn, dance, and spread love to honor the LGBT community in Orlando. Here are four of PRIDE's favorite pieces, one year after the tragedy.
"Pulse, and the Beautiful, Sad, Joyful Tradition of Queer Grief" (published on NBC OUT)
John Paul Brammar eloquently reflects on growing up gay, latino, and the grief we carry with us. "Grief is not always a candlelit vigil, or a protest march, though it can be," Brammar explains. "Grief can be neon, can be a ball, can be camp, can be a read, or can be a parade. It can be as joyful as it is sad. Grief is the thing that comes after the hurt. It is an agent of healing. It is the reckoning, in all its phases both painful and triumphant, with the hurt you’ve been given."
"This Powerful Photo Series Shares The Stories Of Pulse Nightclub Survivors, Family Members, And First Responders" (published on BuzzFeed)
BuzzFeed shared their Dear Orlando photo series today featuring survivors of the attack, family members of those lost, and first responders. Each photo tells a powerful story, including a heartbreaking one from Mina Justice, who describes the fear she felt after she heard about the attack and realized her son wasn't in his bedroom.
"Pulse survivor reflects 1 year after Orlando nightclub shooting: 'Every day I wish it didn't happen'" (published on Mic.com)
Richard Negron, a survivor of the shooting, reflects on the last year of rebuilding Orlando's Latinx community, advocacy work in the wake of the tragedy, and how his own life has changed in the last year. "They died celebrating their lives and their love, and they were taken from us," Negron said. "And after that, I realized that I should be, too."
"Looking back to the Pulse shooting through the eyes of a queer black Muslim" (published on ThinkProgress)
Devyn Springer shares his experience mourning Pulse as a queer, black, and Muslim man and how we, as a community, can rise from the ashes of this tragedy and all come together.
Here are the names of the 49 people who lost their lives:
Stanley Almodovar III, age 23
Amanda Alvear, 25
Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
Martin Benitez Torres, 33
Antonio D. Brown, 30
Darryl R. Burt II, 29
Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28
Simon A. Carrillo Fernandez, 31
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
Luis D. Conde, 39
Cory J. Connell, 21
Tevin E. Crosby, 25
Franky J. Dejesus Velazquez, 50
Deonka D. Drayton, 32
Mercedez M. Flores, 26
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
Juan R. Guerrero, 22
Paul T. Henry, 41
Frank Hernandez, 27
Miguel A. Honorato, 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
Jason B. Josaphat, 19
Eddie J. Justice, 30
Anthony L. Laureano Disla, 25
Christopher A. Leinonen, 32
Brenda L. Marquez McCool, 49
Jean C. Mendez Perez, 35
Akyra Monet Murray, 18
Kimberly Morris, 37
Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27
Luis O. Ocasio-Capo, 20
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25
Eric I. Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24
Christopher J. Sanfeliz, 24
Xavier E. Serrano Rosado, 35
Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
Shane E. Tomlinson, 33
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
Luis S. Vielma, 22
Luis D. Wilson-Leon, 37
Jerald A. Wright, 31
