SUNDAY, MAY 29 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE C5
“World’s Greatest Father” mug
for Michael. A rosary for Esteban.
A wrench for Paul. A video game
console for Domonic. Hair clip-
pers for Andre. A “Welcome to
our class!” card for Sarah, age 5,
killed by her father after her first
day of kindergarten.
The idea of the kids was what
undid Karin Engstrand, 69,
whose emotions built and built as
she moved from one house to the
next. When she’d first seen the
name of the exhibit, she hadn’t
wanted to go in. The news of the
past two weeks had just been too
much. All those children, killed in
just one day. And now here she
was looking at mementos about
others. Babies. Toddlers. Teens.
She’d come to town for her
son’s college graduation, and the
family had decided to venture to a
few final museums before flying
back home to Minneapolis,
where the aftereffects of George
Floyd’s murder by police was still
raw.
Engstrand hadn’t personally
been touched by gun violence,
but she’d always been willing to
help. She donated money. She
signed petitions. But walking
through the memorial, she felt
helpless.
“You want to be hopeful ...” she
trailed off. “I just don’t think it’s
going to stop.”
House number two.
A photo of 2-year-old Angeli-
na’s big brown eyes beside a card
that says “descanso” — Spanish
for “rest.” A Washington Nation-
als hat for Frederick. A letter from
the United States Marine Corps
to Bob, a first lieutenant, award-
ing him the Bronze Star for serv-
ice in combat. A Dunkin’ Donuts
cup for Kenneth. A “REWARD”
card for David, dead at 19, with a
pleading question: Do you know
who murdered my son? A remem-
brance stone for the 2015 mass
shooting at Umpqua Community
College in Oregon. The press
badge of sports journalist John
McNamara, a victim of a mass
shooting at the Capital Gazette
newsroom in Maryland.
The call to action, the volume
of loss, the fact that guns are legal
— it all felt bizarre to Yichao Su,
25, and Aviva Wang, 26, who grew
up in China. Su is a film student
in London. Wang is pursuing her
master’s degree in education,
with a dream of teaching elemen-
tary students.
The Uvalde shooting, at Robb
Elementary School, had prompt-
ed many teachers to speak out for
stronger gun regulations, to de-
mand that lawmakers stop saying
that school shootings could be
prevented if educators were
taught how to shoot back. They
said they were tired of active-
shooter drills. They said their
students were afraid.
Wang thought about none of
MEMORIAL FROM C1
Gun violence memorial visitors reflect on past 2 weeks
PHOTOS BY CAROLYN VAN HOUTEN/THE WASHINGTON POST
TOP: Karin Engstrand looks through the Gun Violence Memorial
Project at the National Building Museum. LEFT: T he e xhibit
contains four houses, built with hundreds of bricks that allow
families to display items from their loved ones lost to gun violence.
ABOVE: One of the bricks is dedicated to John McNamara, a sports
reporter who was among those killed in the 2018 Capital Gazette
mass shooting in Annapolis.about the police officers who
fatally shot him. A piece of paper
with Louis’s last words to his
mother: “It is what it is. I love
you.”
The sign had told Oertley to
reflect, and so in the glass houses,
she absorbed each brick. She took
photos of some, because she
wanted to remember them as
individuals, and then she felt bad
that she couldn’t take pictures of
them all — to honor each life
equally.
Now, she knew, it was time to
act. She stepped into the exhibit’s
final installation, a room where
visitors could sit and read the
books about gun violence scat-
tered on the tables. One about
gun violence in Chicago, her
hometown. Another containing
poetry. A blue one, from the
students who survived the mass
shooting at a Parkland, Fla.
school, which reminded her of
the last time she came to Wash-
ington.
It was March 2018, one month
after 17 people were murdered at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School. The surviving students
organized millions to flood the
streets near Congress, calling it
the March for Our Lives. They
demanded a host of gun reforms.
Some speculated it might even be
a tipping point.
“Nothing,” Oertley thought,
“has changed.”that as she walked past. She plans
to get her degree and move back
to China, where communities
don’t experience gun violence be-
cause almost no one can own
guns.
House number three.
The Piper family couldn’t stay
in any one house for too long,
because the immensity of what
they represented had become too
much. In 2022, it was difficult to
not feel immersed in tragedy and
trauma. Choosing to go inside felt
necessary, but it was hard.
They’d come for the weekend
from Pennsylvania, not planning
to find a gun violence exhibit at a
museum about buildings. But
they were learning so much.
They knew how often guns are
used to kill people in mass shoot-
ings and in crimes. But they
hadn’t realized just how many
U.S. gun deaths involved suicide:
nearly two-thirds.
House number four.
A compass for Phillip, 26, who
ended his own life with a hunting
gun — a gift from his grandfather.
Pompoms for Alexis, a cheer
coach killed by her ex-boyfriend.
A baby picture for Arthur. Drum-
beat Red L’Oreal lipstick for Cat.
Ballet shoes for Hannah. Bedaz-
zled sunglasses for Noelle. A résu-
mé from Dariel, 20, an aspiring
clothing designer whose goal was
to “change the world of fashion.”
A newspaper article for Kenneth“You want to be hopeful ... I just don’t think it’sgoing to stop.”
Karin Engstrand, who was in town for her son’s college graduation. She visited
a few museums before going home to Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s
murder by police in 2020 is still raw.18 Months
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