Candlelight vigil honors victims of racial violence – Ashland News

Event is the first in a series tied to a future public memorial inspired by the city’s ‘Say Their Names’ movement

By Kayla Heffner for Ashland.news

A community grassroots effort that began years ago to honor lives lost to racial violence is truly turning pain into power with a permanent art installation in Ashland.

The Ashland Sunrise Project held a “Say Their Names” candlelight vigil Saturday, May 23, at Wesley Hall, behind the United Methodist Church, to honor victims of racial violence and bring the community together in remembrance.

The Ashland Sunrise Project, part of the Oregon Remembrance Project (ORP), aims to help former “sundown towns” become “sunrise communities” where everyone can feel safe and respected.

The May 23 event was the first in a series of vigils leading up to the March 2027 unveiling of Ashland artist Micah Blacklight’s sculpture called “Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Our Call.”

Each vigil will read off different names of victims from police brutality or racial violence, along with honoring their personal stories, humanizing the names and real lives lost to racial violence.

Artist Micah Blacklight tells the gathering how his sculpture, “Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Our Call,” was chosen to replace the “Say Their Names” memorial. The sculpture is set to be unveiled in March 2027 at Ashland Creek Park. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

Blacklight spoke at the vigil about how powerful the moment was when his sculpture design, inspired by the makeshift “Say Their Names” memorial, was approved by the Ashland City Council.

The outpouring of support from the community backing the project was overwhelming, with many people breaking down crying during the meeting and hugging afterward, according to Blacklight.

“All of the stuff behind the scenes had worked, and it was unanimous, and I got to stand there, and I broke; they all broke, and we all broke together,” Blacklight said.

The original makeshift memorial at Railroad Park started by local artists in June 2020, featuring T-shirts lining a long stretch of fence bearing the names of Black Americans killed by racial violence, kept getting torn down. The murder of George Floyd, along with others, sparked a firestorm of national demonstrations and riots in multiple cities across the country about racial injustice.

The community in Ashland helped rebuild the memorial after it had been vandalized at least five times, as previously reported by Ashland.news.

Participants hold candles in remembrance near the end of Friday’s vigil. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

Aidan Ellison was fatally shot by a man who confronted him on Nov. 23, 2020, about supposedly playing his music too loudly in the parking lot of an Ashland hotel. Ellison, who was 19, was remembered by his mother for his love of music and his radiant, infectious smile.

Ellison was honored at the vigil, which concluded with his story and the placing of a candle beneath his photo among other lives lost too soon. A mural outside Ashland High School (AHS) serves as a tribute to Ellison, ensuring his legacy endures in the community’s hearts. Ellison would have turned 25 this year.

Ashland City Councilor Gina DuQuenne remembers how the old memorial kept getting torn down. DuQuenne said when the City Council approved the permanent art installation, it was a day the community came together and supported each other.

“It was a beautiful time. I saw the humanity of my colleagues, and our community showed up. It was joy, it was sadness that we have to have something like this — it should just be automatic that we would see each other as equal,” DuQuenne said.

The permanent sculpture symbolizes how meaningful change can occur in a community that’s welcoming to all, she said.

Twenty people who died from racial violence were remembered Friday, including Aidan Ellison, who was killed in Ashland in 2020. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

“It’s a gift, and I’m grateful,” DuQuenne said. “Micah Blacklight is creating a sculpture, but in my mind is creating a church so our community has somewhere to go and to touch and feel.”

A volunteer with Ashland Sunrise Project who spoke at the vigil was wearing a shirt Ellison’s mother made for his memorial after her son died.

“It’s been about a dozen years I’ve been focused on uprooting racism in our community,” Bob Morse said.

Ashland Together, another community organization involved in racial equity work, partnered with ORP to launch the Ashland Sunrise Project in 2024.

“The goal of Ashland Sunrise Project is to have a place that’s safe for everyone, a sense of belonging for everyone, a place that everyone can feel like this is their home. The first step is remembrance, then repair, then reconciliation,” Morse said.

Morse said being part of the movement to address racial violence has been transformative for him and hopes it will be for others.

Kym McKandes reads one of 20 remembrances honoring victims of racial violence. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

“Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Our Call,” an Afrofuturist sculpture of a winged figure holding an open book, is set to debut at Ashland Creek Park in March 2027.

The figure could represent an ancestor, a collective of ancestors or even the spirit of George Floyd, Blacklight previously said to Ashland.news.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s death. Floyd would have turned 53 years old this fall.

“However, at this moment, I can stand here in front of you and say this is happening. This is your dream. I am real,” Blacklight said.

Freelance journalist Kayla Heffner lives in Ashland. Email her at [email protected].