El Paso Walmart mass shooting: 'We are in a constant healing process' as victims are mourned

As memorials for the victims of the Aug. 3, 2019, white supremacist attack began Saturday morning, the Border Network for Human Rights was once again calling attention to the root causes of the attack.

The group held its annual El Paso Firme event at Edgemere Walk Park Saturday morning. A wooden podium was surrounded by 23 crosses painted with the names of the 23 victims of the 2019 attack, each adorned with a flower wreath wrapped in a banner with slogans like "End white supremacy" and "No mas racismo" and "We will never forget."

For BNHR Executive Director Fernando Garcia, the aftershocks of the attack on the Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall are still being felt and, in many cases, are being worsened as politicians continue to wave the same hateful banners as the man who orchestrated the attack.

"We are in a constant healing process," Garcia said. "This was not a circumstantial attack. This was not a mental health issue, as many people have tried to present it ... what is clear to us is that two evil systems came together to create the conditions for that attack."

Those "systems," he said, are the continued use of white supremacist and anti-immigrant rhetoric at the highest levels of government, especially from former President Donald Trump, and ready access to firearms in the United States.

"We didn't know back then, but now we know that these evil narratives not only hurt people, they kill people," he said. "That's what happened in El Paso."

'It feels like it was just the other day'

Among the speakers memorial event were Prince of Peace Christian Fellowship Pastor Michael Grady and his daughter, Michelle, who was wounded during the shooting and spent more than a month in the hospital recovering.

"In some ways, it feels like it was a long time ago but, in a lot of ways, it feels like it was just the other day," she said. "It's been a long road ... everyday is a journey."

"It's been hard trying to get my life back to what it was before," Grady added. "There's no amount of love, support or money that will bring anyone back or change anything from that day, but the support that has been felt by me from the community is very appreciated ... "

Michael Grady turned his attention toward the fight against the type of hate, racism and xenophobia that made the shooting possible in the first place.

"Everything we thought about humanity changed," he said. "We were targeted for our community. We were targeted because of the color of our skin, but we were mostly targeted because of the hatred that spewed from the mouth of the former president. And those words continue to spew from the mouths of those in leadership."

More: El Paso Walmart shooting: A timeline of tragedy

He told the crowd that hatred begins in the heart.

"We must begin to speak truth to power and not hide behind medical diagnoses," Grady continued. "We're not born divided, we're not born divisive, we're not born with hatred. We hope today ... that our civil, social and human rights leaders will continue to fight the fight of faith, continue to speak truth to power, continue to build a community of solidarity."

'A community for all'

A bevy of local leaders gave comments, including East-Central city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, a candidate for mayor, and El Paso County Commissioner David Stout.

For her part, Hernandez took aim at the promises made by Gov. Greg Abbott in the wake of the shooting, promises she said he not only didn't deliver on but in fact "did the exact opposite."

Stout focused on the continuing perseverance of El Paso and its people over the years following the shooting.

"We are here primarily to honor the victims and we're here to stand up for El Paso and we're here to say we reject hate," Stout said, alternating between English and Spanish. "El Paso's not perfect, no community is, but for many years the vast majority of us have stood strong in the principle that this is a community for all."

'Justicia - justice'

As the speakers finished their comments, volunteers hoisted the 23 crosses and led the crowd down the street, past Ponder Park, which acted as a reunification area for survivors of the attack five years ago, to the nearby Walmart beside Cielo Vista Mall.

Once there, a bell rang and each of the victims' names were read aloud followed by a chant of "justicia" from the crowd.

Once the last name was called, 23 white doves were released — they sputtered as they left their cage and darted past the flowers nearby. Then, they took to the sky and disappeared above El Paso.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso fights racism, white supremacy during Walmart mass shooting ceremony