In addition to the 16,000+ Alabamians lost to the virus, our communities have also suffered more deaths from overdose, suicide, and gun violence during this pandemic.
The pandemic revealed absent safety nets, simmering hate and division, and lethal gaps in healthcare. We can honor the lives lost by closing the healthcare gaps that made Alabama’s death rate so high. Let’s carry forward the legacies of our loved ones by engaging our communities—to make them stronger, more resilient, and more just.
From loss to light to legacy…
Hold a visible candle lighting honoring lives lost with my family/friends/neighbors.
Share a photo of it using #ShineAlabama
Connect to Shine a Light social media and invite others to join me and visit ShineAlabama.org.
Reflect on loved ones I have lost during the pandemic and add a memory photo to the memorial wall at ShineAlabama.org
Act as an ambassador to my own community groups to inspire broader memorial candle lightings in conjunction with other planned gatherings.
Reach out to families who have lost someone and check on them. Proactively ask how they are doing. Share this memorial effort with them.
Connect to civic engagement opportunities that can make our communities less vulnerable—stronger, more resilient and more just..
Neighborhood groups, faith communities, civic, volunteer and youth organizations do the work of community-building. Some workplaces experienced the loss of multiple members of a team. These groups can participate in Shine a Light Alabama and host safe, but larger communal gatherings to memorialize lives lost and connect with people in grief.
We welcome organizational and group participation to expand the Shine a Light process so we can act in united ways to bring healing to this tragedy. We invite creative application of this simple process of memorialization.
Download Resources
Resource Guide – English
Resource Guide – Spanish
Resource Guide – Korea
Shine a Light Alabama Flyer – English
Shine a Light Alabama Flyer – Spanish
Shine a Light Alabama Flyer – Korea
Candle Lighting Guide
Shine A Light Alabama Full Length Short Film
Shine A Light Alabama Short Film Trailer
Shine A Light Alabama Campaign Intro
Though the pandemic hits some areas and groups of people harder than others, the tragedy of great loss is common—around the world. Memorialization and remembrance are critical to healing and making meaning out these losses that helps us all move forward.
Even in grief we can find connection and a larger sense of community. We welcome conversation with groups outside of Alabama to build connections to the ways we honor lives lost and acknowledge the impact of grief. We would love to know what you are doing in your community. We are also glad to find ways to partner and support emerging efforts.
Contact Shermetria Massingale, Project Coordinator, at remember@shinealabama.org or info@shinealabama.org