An observance marking National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims at the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station included the reading of names of 300 homicide victims killed over the past year.
“I hate that there’s so many of them,” LaWanda Hawkins, who organized Thursday night’s observance and candlelight vigil, told City News Service. “This is one club that (I) don’t (want) to belong to.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna was among the speakers.
In 2007, Congress designated Sept. 25 as the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims to provide âan opportunity for the people of the United States to honor the memories of murder victims and to recognize the impact on surviving family members.â
The day “is not only about remembering those we’ve lost. It is about lifting up families who live with this pain every day and ensuring their loved ones are never forgotten,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins helped found Justice For Murdered Children in 1996 after the murder of her son Reginald in December 1995. The organization describes its mission as bringing “justice and healing to families of murdered children” and striving “to create a world where no family has to bear the pain of losing a loved one to violence.”