After the Uvalde shooting, a group of mothers who belonged to a monthly book club, decided not to talk about their book of the month. Instead they dedicated their gathering to sharing their deep grief and feelings of powerlessness about the senseless loss of 19 beautiful children in Uvalde, Texas. Children, just like their own, who were excited to learn, hang out with friends and wrap up school for the summer.

I am one of the book club mothers.

We committed to shine a light on this tragedy and connect to our common humanity through art. We are often afraid to talk about gun violence because it is such a fraught conversation. However, we know one thing we all have in common regardless of our political affiliation or upbringing.

Let’s start our conversation with this belief in mind.

To express our grief and touch the hearts of others, we created an art installation featuring 21 orange t-shirts of different sizes, with the hand-painted names of the children and teachers who died that day in May. We call it the “Uvalde T-shirt Clothesline”.

The Uvalde T-Shirt Clothesline speaks of the empty shirts left behind: shirts that will never be played in, worn to school, or hugged at night.

We displayed this at our local Farmer’s Market where many people stopped, looked up and reflected on the loss. It now it hangs at the entrance of the museum of northern california, monca.

Uvalde T-Shirt Clothesline Story

On May 24, 2022, in the small town of Uvalde, Texas, nineteen innocent children and two teachers were gunned down at school by an 18-year-old with an automatic weapon. Out of our grief and dismay over this tragic loss of life arose this installation of 21 orange t-shirts, hand-painted with the names of the children and teachers who died that day.

The Uvalde T-Shirt Clothesline speaks of the empty shirts left behind: shirts that will never be played in, worn to school, or hugged at night. Shirts whose young owners will never reach their full potential. We chose orange shirts since orange is the commemorative color of gun violence prevention. 

Empty orange shirts on a clothesline serves as a metaphor for the ordinary act of hanging our family’s clothes to dry, a commonplace fixture of household routine. It connects to the tragic reminder that gun violence in our schools is also becoming routine.

Firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Every two and a half-hours, a child loses their life due to firearm violence, accidents, or suicide. We hope this display touches hearts and shines a light on the senseless loss of these beautiful souls. Through connection and conversation, we can make a difference.  

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Press Release

Download Press Release here

T-Shirt Clothesline Tribute makes local paper front page.

Maybe other communities could create their own clothesline? Read Enterprise Record Article here. 

Resources

Download a List of Gun Violence Prevention Organizations

Nurses Union Addresses Gun Violence

Art Displays

Uvalde mural honors Robb Elementary School shooting