By Amanda Moses
On May 11th, the COVID emergency declaration ended after being implemented in 2020. On the same day, a dedication ceremony was held in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery to pay tribute to those lost by the pandemic.
Hundreds gathered solemnly at 6pm in the Green-Wood Cemetery along Fifth Avenue and 25th Street’s main entrance area to pay their respects at an outdoor exhibition along the entrance fence entitled “The Many Losses from Covid-19.” The opening ceremony included folk singers from Jewish, African, African American, and Garifuna traditions and a remembrance ritual naming those who perished from COVID-19 over the past three years.
“Public COVID memorials help remind us that New Yorkers have suffered tremendous loss of life in this pandemic,” Kay Turner, the project’s consultant and an early project organizer. “We have also suffered other losses—loss of time, relationships, jobs, taste and smell. Many of our neighbors are stalled in the debilitating effects of Long COVID.”
The exhibit is also interactive and was designed for spectators to add their own memorial contributions.
The memorial ceremony included tributes made by over 20 community groups and will be on view for all to see until May 29th.
For more information visit: https://www.green-wood.com/event/naming-the-lost-memorials-activation-ceremony/
