Leave it to Leonor #132

This week, I am thinking about 1,149.

At least 1,149 children have been killed by gun violence since the Parkland massacre last year. This is not including the 900-1000 children who used guns to take their own lives (here's why they are not included in that number). Last year, my friend Akoto Ofori-Atta, managing editor of The Trace, asked me if I knew of freelance photo editors who could take on a big project. I sent her a few suggestions, bemoaning the fact that I was unable to work on it myself, but then the timeline changed and I was able to sign on. 

For months, I reached out to the loved ones of these children. From infants and toddlers to teens who were parents themselves. There were athletes, diligent students, siblings. and artists, 

In telling their stories, we want to overwhelm you.
We want you to feel that every child’s gun death is unacceptable

It was difficult on multiple levels. Early on, we made the decision that we were going to get all the photos legally which meant that instead of pulling pictures off social media, I'd be contacting families directly. This meant, on a logistical level, connecting the dots through public records, which was an incredible challenge. I had a partner, Amanda Saviñón, who doggedly researched to get me those contacts. Numbers and emails in public record are often outdated, it's harder to track people down on Facebook than you would think. Sometimes the Joe Smith we thought was the parent of Jane Smith was just one of four Joe Smith's in a particular city. ​I methodically worked my way down an ever growing list, contacting families who'd gone through the unimaginable.

That was simply the technical part of it all. Making direct contact with the families was heartbreaking. Every photo that arrived in my inbox was a triumph for the project, but I never once forgot that on the other side of that response was tragedy. Faces of toddlers and grinning teens appeared on my screen, moving me to tears on a regular basis. 

Teen journalists from around the country wrote the stories. Each one captures the dignity and uniqueness of a life cut short. 
 
We wrote these profiles for every family who planned a funeral too soon.
For the victims who’ve been buried.
The tiny caskets. For a country littered with bullets.

I am so honored to have worked on this while wishing that no one had to. If you are so inclined, please share so these stories can continue to be read and these children can be remembered. 

Here is Since Parkland.