Hundreds in Harrisburg remember victims of Orlando attack
Photo by Ben Allen/witf
A woman holds a candle at Harrisburg’s vigil to remember those killed in the Orlando attack.
(Harrisburg) — The attack on the gay community in Orlando that left 49 people dead brought hundreds out in Harrisburg to remember all the lives lost.
The chants started: “We Stand / With Orlando.”
The gathering in Harrisburg didn’t just feature the familiar rainbow flag, it included hundreds of different people: gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, queer and more.
Governor Tom Wolf, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse and other elected officials stood with the crowd of hundreds, as speakers all asked to remember the 49 victims of the Orlando attack.
Many also called for more tolerance, and extending non-discrimination protections to LGBT people.
But it all came back to Orlando.
Photo by Ben Allen/witf
Shaashawn Dial-Snowden, a Harrisburg poet, who spoke at the vigil for the Orlando attack.
Shaashawn Dial-Snowden, a Harrisburg poet, struck a defiant tone.
“We should be unapologetic about finding community in bars and lounges and nightclubs. Those spaces we graced when we first slow danced in public, and maybe had a first kiss and almost surely a safe space to get your flirt on,” she said.
“The 49 call us to be unapologetic about being. Being Latin, being Hispanic, being Asian Pacific Islander, being Arab Middle Eastern, biracial, multiracial. The 49 call us to be unapologetic.”
Photo by Ben Allen/witf
The crowd holds hands during the opening prayer at the vigil.
After all the names had been read and candles had been lit, the group marched about a quarter mile to Harrisburg’s famous gay bar – Stallions.
Photo by Ben Allen/witf
A group crosses Forster Street in Harrisburg, on the way to the city’s famous gay bar Stallions, during a vigil for the Orlando attack.
The crowd ended the night with a simple chant: “We are here, we are queer, we will not, disappear.”
Photo by Ben Allen/witf
A crowd of hundreds at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market looks on during a vigil to remember those killed in the Orlando attack.
— Ben Allen (@BenAllenWITF) June 14, 2016
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