Pulse
Updated: Apr 27, 2022
Image retrieved from CKOM.
The font theme chosen for this project is “Pulse,” one word that reminds many in the LGBTQIA+ community of one of the most tragic events in recent history. On June 12, 2016, around 2:02 a.m., a lone gunman entered Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., murdered 49 people and wounded 53 more. The Pulse nightclub shooting is the second deadliest mass shooting in the recent history of the United States.
The victims were mostly Latinx and Black LGBTQIA+ individuals. The stories of the lives lost have been too frequently overshadowed by other voices claiming to understand what happened or who would rather focus on other narratives, like international terrorism. Brandon Wolf is a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting who now advocates for gun reform and LGBTQIA+ rights. Wolf works with “Equality Florida, a political advocacy group that advocates for civil rights and protections for LGBTQ+ residents of Florida” and the Dru Project, “an organization he founded following the shooting at Pulse that sponsors LGBTQ+ student groups and provides college funding to future leaders” (Casey, 2021).
Brandon Wolf disrupts caste at the community level through empowerment, education, and assistance with resources. He also disrupts at the national level by challenging United States policymakers to do more in the areas of gun reform and LGBTQIA+ rights. Wolf was the first Pulse survivor to testify before Congress about his experience, in which he urged for action. He lives with the trauma of surviving this tragedy while tirelessly working to bring an end to gun violence.
In an interview with Jeffrey Masters (2021), Brandon Wolf insists,
"The reality is not that these things are impossible to solve. The reality is not that violence is inevitable because other countries have solved it. The reality is that we have allowed our leaders to get away with being not held accountable for their inaction to a place where we have instead normalized the violence instead of forcing them to take action."
Image retrieved from The Advocate.
The Lives Lost at Pulse:
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda L. Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Kimberly Jean Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez, 37 years old
Luis Sergio Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
We must remember their lives and work to bring an end to violence inflicted upon LGBTQIA+ communities.
References:
Bloch, H., Hersher, R., Domonoske, C., Kennedy, M., & Dwyer, C. (2016, June 13). 'they were so beautiful': Remembering those murdered in Orlando. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/12/481785763/heres-what-we-know-about-the-orlando-shooting-victims
Casey, J. (2021, June 11). Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf on the meaning of June 12. Advocate. Retrieved from https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/6/11/pulse-shooting-survivor-brandon-wolf-meaning-june-12
Masters, J. (2021, April 20). Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf: Stop accepting gun violence. Advocate. Retrieved from https://www.advocate.com/politics/2021/4/20/pulse-survivor-brandon-wolf-stop-accepting-gun-violence
Victims' names. City of Orlando. (2016, June 12). Retrieved from https://www.orlando.gov/Initiatives/Pulse-Tragedy/Updates-and-Information/Victims%E2%80%99-Names
Zambelich, A., & Hurt, A. (2016, June 26). 3 hours in Orlando: Piecing together an attack and its aftermath. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482322488/orlando-shooting-what-happened-update