Pulse survivors talk fear, healing, and resilience in emotional photo series
A new photo and interview series called "Dear Orlando" is telling the stories of 25 survivors, family members, and first responders who were impacted by the deadly Pulse Nightclub shooting one year ago.
In the portraits, harrowing messages are written on the skin of those featured, with statements like "I kissed you hello. I never kissed you goodbye," and "I wish they could have answered their phones."
Each survivor, family member, and first responder sat for a portrait and extended interview where they reflected on the impact of the mass shooting at Pulse on June 12, 2016. On that day, a single gunman murdered 49 people at an LGBTQ nightclub in Florida on Latin night.
The shooting, which mostly impacted Latinx LGBTQ people, is recognized as the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.
"I boiled the turkey necks," Emily Addison, whose partner Deonka Drayton died at Pulse, said in her interview. "After it was boiled real good and the meat was falling off the bone, I'd put some golden mushroom soup inside of the water, and it would be like a gravy turkey neck thing you put on top of rice and cabbage on the side."
"That was her last meal," Addison said. "Our last meal together."
The series is the latest photo collection from Dear World, a storytelling portrait series that uses messages on skin to express healing and emotion. The project has captured 70,000 portraits since its founding in 2010, including a viral photo series that told the stories of Boston Marathon bombing survivors.
The messages shared by Pulse survivors on the solemn one year anniversary of the shooting cover a range of emotions, from tribute to regret and hope to fear.
“Dear World honors the people who passed away, saved lives, comforted the injured and buried loved ones a year ago,” Dear World founder Robert X. Fogarty said in a release. “I cherish the opportunity to listen and share these deeply personal stories from people who are bound by a nightmare that nobody should ever have to endure.”
Those interviewed include Barbara Poma, owner of the Pulse nightclub; Mina Justice, whose son, Eddie, sent her text messages from the bathroom before he died; and survivor Angel Colon who became a vocal advocate for gun control and LGBTQ rights following the shooting.
"I will never forget..." Colon says in his interview. "I just keep repeating this in my head: Love, hope, positivity. Move forward. You'll be fine."
The entire collection of portraits and stories is available here.
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Topics LGBTQ Social Good
Katie Dupere was a Social Good reporter at Mashable from May 2015 to July 2017, covering activism, identities and social impact. Prior to her work with Mashable, Katie penned pieces about queerness, body positivity, sex and relationships for Gurl. She also previously contributed LGBTQ news coverage to PinkNews.
