On Dec 14th, the 6th anniversary of Sandy Hook, Chicago's Schools Say Enough Sidewalk Challenge headed to Pittsburgh to honor the victims of the Tree of Life massacre and all the victims of gun violence across the country. The student-made installation features 13K strips of orange fabric representing all the kids who have been gunned down since Sandy Hook. It stretches an entire city block.
With that, community members chalked the names of victims, survivors, or schools that have suffered gun violence, or simply the word ‘Enough.’ In addition, students from local schools and youth groups created a Hope Tree in Frick Park @ Blue Slide. A blind man wrote three words for the world to see.
The Schools Say Enough Sidewalk Challenge has been done at scores of schools, rallies, street festivals, and protests in Chicago, most notably the Road to Change at Saint Sabina, the shutdown of both Dan Ryan and Lake Shore Drive, the Women’s March, March For Our Lives March to Midterms, and Nobody is Above The Law. The installation was on Paul Allen's downtown Seattle property for two months to bolster support for I-1639, the most sweeping gun control legislation ever put forth on a referendum. It won.
Pittsburgh's installation represents a broad-based citywide effort to turn anguish into action. Next stop Women's March on Washington!