AFSC
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Colorado extends our deepest condolences to the loved ones of Alicia Cardenas, Alyssa Gunn-Maldonado, Danny Scofield known in community as Dano Blair, Michael Swinyard and Sarah Steck after they were senselessly murdered December 27th. We are a community in mourning.
We hold in the Light, Jimmy Maldonado and Ashley Ferris, who were wounded, as they recover alongside all who witnessed the unconscionable violence.
We will deeply strive to embody the practices of community and love they shared so freely.
Alicia, Alyssa and Jimmy’s deeply respected spiritual and cultural work has been part of the fabric of Chicano, Indigenous and social justice communities for over two decades. Their presence has rooted participants in the dignity and power of their ancestors and cultural traditions. They mentored and taught so many in the arts of healing, community and life and led many rituals at events in support of immigrant, Indigenous and human rights.
We will deeply strive to embody the practices of community and love they shared so freely.
Alicia and Dano were artists on many types of canvas, including the human body. To them each tattoo and piercing was a way to help someone transform, express their deepest values and truest selves. The ink ran much deeper than the skin. The pieces they worked on settled in the soul.
The legacy of the work of their tattoo guns–legacies of transformation and healing—will live on indefinitely in the thousands of people they touched.
The work Alicia led so powerfully is not done.
We remain committed to addressing the root causes of violence—including racism, misogyny and xenophobia—and to advocating for investment in mental health, social supports, violence prevention, and community programs that strengthen our bonds to one another
The American Friends Service Committee Denver (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions.
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