The horrifying shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on June 12 resulted in the deaths of 49 people, most of whom were queer people of color, and has caused heartfelt memorials to spring up all over the world. Now those 49 victims of the worst mass shooting in American history are getting a permanent memorial at Pulse itself. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a nonprofit called OnePULSE Foundation has filed a state document outlining plans for what it’s calling “a sanctuary of hope” dedicated to the lost lives. OnePULSE’s initial mission was to provide financial assistance for the families of these victims.
Pulse’s owner Barbara Poma had recently vowed to reopen the club that she founded as a safe space for Orlando’s LGBTQ community. “We just have to move forward and find a way to keep their hearts beating and keep our spirits alive,” she said on Todayjust three days after the shooting. “We’re not going to let someone take this away from us.” Poma originally opened Pulse in 2004 and named it after her brother John, who died of AIDS in 1991. The club’s function as a safe haven for an already oppressed community has added an extra coat of darkness to the tragedy, and makes the fostering of hope all the more necessary.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Photography Ellie Smith