On Thursday, Jan. 8, Indivisible Gunnison held a candlelight vigil to honor the life of Renee Nicole Good at IOOF Park. Her death in Minneapolis sparked protests throughout the country and hit close to home for community members in the Gunnison valley.
“Minneapolis seems really far away, and it seems really close. For something that happened over a thousand miles away, it feels relevant,” said longtime local Paul Duba. “The way that we stand with our immigrants, the way we believe in the things that are under attack, it feels like we’re swimming in the same water.”
The crowd for the vigil gathered at around 5:30 p.m. and listened to the reading of Good’s published and acclaimed poem entitled “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs,” then took a moment to honor Good.
“It was a last-minute thing that I thought up because I thought it was really important to get out here and remember her,” said Indivisible Gunnison member Amanda Campbell. “And not just Renee, all the other (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) victims.”
The wind whipped and continuously blew out candles, but that didn’t discourage participants.
“We thought it’d be important to show our solidarity tonight with Renee, considering she used to be a Colorado resident, and it’s a very big impact across the nation, what happened to her, we don’t like to see that happen to anybody.”
The vigil also served as a reminder to the community to take grief seriously. Gunnison’s Joe Burgess brought attention to the mental health resources that the community has, simply in each other, reminding locals that togetherness and community have become radically self preserving acts. Members of the Gunnison valley put together third spaces for people to come together and feel less alienated in times like these.
“It’s great to see this solidarity, I’m glad people are awake, and we’re not done.” Duba said.
Indivisible Gunnison is holding another protest for Walk Out Across America at IOOF Park and the 4way stop on Jan. 20.
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