Each day, we experience another death, another tragedy, another loss of life to violence, and we have no answers. There are many people–good people–working to help families and the community cope with the hurt and pain that comes with loss, particularly tragic loss.
As we at Scoop try to support our communities, victims and families, we have partnered with Zarinah Lomax and The Apologues to respect those we have lost by sharing portraits and brief introductions into the lives of the families that The Apologues’ has featured.
***
Artist: Sharia Wallace
Missing Piece, Acrylic on canvas
Co-victim: Ralphie Colon
Victim: Melanie Colon
Melanie Colon was shot in North Philadelphia. After being missing for some days, police found her body outside a Juniata Park apartment building on May 12, 2012. Melanie left behind a son and extended family who refuse to let her death be swept under the rug. Her family was devastated so much that her mother died a few days before the one-year anniversary of her death.
Her brothers, especially Ralphie, have been on every frontline physically and on social media that will allow him to keep her name alive. Ralphie is the co-victim reflected in the portrait in honor of his sister and her legacy.
Ralphie says: Losing Melanie was like losing a part of himself. “I go so hard for her because she was dumped in the park like trash, and my sister was not trash.”
What is The Apologues?
The Apologues (under the fiscal sponsorship of the Federation of Neighborhood Centers) is a fashion and art exhibit that uses the arts to assist individuals in healing, empowering themselves, and advocating against gun violence and trauma that plague urban communities. Through the use of fashion, art, and music, The Apologues honors the emotions of untreated trauma through the realm of storytelling to trigger healing. We do this through the combination of self-portraits of victims and co-victims, wearable art, and musical experiences combined.
For more information and to support this initiative, visit our website, https://www.theapologues.org
