Won't Stay Silent About Police Violence
Won’t stay silent about police violence
The voices that are often if not always unheard are the children who deal with the trauma from losing a loved one to police violence.
PERSONAL PROJECT (Fig. 1) / Justice for Josiah, Silicon Valley De-Bug (Fig. 2)
Fig. 1 - Personal Project inspired by the stories of Laurie Valdez and Justice for Josiah.
Photo by Jean Melesaine for Healing Invisible Woulds Retreat/ Silicon Valley De-Bug.
Healing Invisible Wounds
While working at Silicon Valley De-Bug, I’ve had the honor to meet and work with Laurie Valdez who is a mother and activist fighting to bring justice for her children in the aftermath of her husband’s murder by San José police. Valdez advocates under the name “Justice for Josiah”, which is the name of her son. Along with other families who have experienced a similar unfortunate fate due to police violence, the community fights intensely to demand accountability of police officers as well as bring light to their children’s trauma in order to deter from a school-to-prison pipeline.
In 2017, Valdez had received a donation from the Kapernick Foundation to fund her vision of having a healing retreat for these families. Within Silicon Valley De-Bug, I was asked to work on this project and help produce her vision when it came to graphic design and events. You can view the video made by Silicon Valley De-Bug (Fig. 2) that documents that day of healing.
Fig. 2 - Silicon Valley De-Bug ‘s documentation of Healing Invisible Wounds Retreat
Outcome
Over 38 families who were directly impacted by police violence were able to honor their loved ones at the Healing Retreat. Nearly 40 speakers, artists, educators, and community members have volunteered their services to heal these families.
