The Color of Pain—Color del dolor: 21 Uvalde murals of Robb Elementary victims use paint to heal pain

Incredible murals in Uvalde used to honor the victims, these small children whose lives were taken by senseless violence.

It's all so terribly sad and traumatizing. Thoughts and prayers for Uvalde and victims of such violence everywhere. Art does help the healing process, in great part by memorializing these childrens' lives.

Do click on the actual newspaper link so that you can see every painting. Simply beautiful!

-Angela Valenzuela

Color del dolor: 21 Uvalde murals of Robb 

Elementary victims use paint to heal pain

Across downtown Uvalde are 21 murals for each of the victims

with each one telling unique stories about each person.

Luz Moreno-LozanoAustin American-Statesman

Published 5:01 AM CDT Oct. 25, 2022 Updated 3:27 PM CDT Oct. 26, 2022

ditor’s note: Our story has been updated to reflect an updated list of artists for 

the murals of Jackie Cazares, Makenna Elrod, Jose Flores, Layla Salazar and 

Rojelio Torres.

UVALDE — More than two dozen artists from across Texas spent this past summer 

memorializing the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in a series of 

murals for the Healing Uvalde project.  

Each of the 21 murals that dot downtown Uvalde tells a story about that person: 

the Girl Scout who saved her friends, the child who always was the life of the party, 

the aspiring lawyer, or the couple who shared a timeless love.  

Lee en Español:21 murales en Uvalde de las víctimas de la Primaria Robb 

utilizan la pintura para sanar el dolor

Abel Ortiz Acosta, who lives and teaches in Uvalde, partnered with Monica Maldonado, 

founder of Austin-based nonprofit MAS Cultura, to organize the three-month project 

that wrapped up in September.  

“We know that art heals,” Maldonado said. “We wanted to use that to help this 

community heal but also show solidarity and be in unity with Uvalde. There is no 

doubt in my mind that this is part of their healing journey, and for many families we 

hope this lets them know that their kids and teachers matter and they won’t be forgotten.”

(Click menu icon at top left of map to see full list of murals)

Continue reading here.

This teacher survived the Uvalde shooting. Here's why she is returning to the job

What we do for our children is what primarily comes to me in this reading of how it must feel to get back into the Uvalde classroom. 

Best wishes and blessings in abundance for Nicole Ogburn and the other courageous and heroic teachers of Uvalde—as well as to all teachers everywhere suffering from violence-related trauma.

-Angela Valenzuela

This teacher survived the Uvalde shooting. Here's why she is returning to the job

Nicole Ogburn shows the new tool that she will use this year to know the 

emotional state of her students.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

September 2, 2022 6:47 AM | NPR

by Juana Summers, Jonaki Mehta, Alejandra Marquez Janse & 

Ashley Brown

From the doorway, Nicole Ogburn's fourth grade classroom looks bright and unassuming.

New, colorful JanSport backpacks hang from small chairs. Blue and white desks with dry erase surfaces sit in clusters around the room. A green bookshelf filled by rows of books is surrounded by beanbag chairs and fuzzy pillows.

This year, as Ogburn prepares her classroom, her first priority is not the decorations she usually spends the summer picking out. Instead, it's buying things to help her students – and herself – feel safer in the classroom.

"I bought a thing that you jam under the door so that they can't open the door. I bought a curtain to pull down so you can't see in my door if something was happening," Ogburn said. "We've just thought of more safety this year than, 'How cute's my room gonna look?'"

Ogburn is preparing for her first year as a teacher at a newly repurposed campus space, dubbed Uvalde Elementary School. For the seven years prior, Ogburn taught at Robb Elementary. The school shut down after the mass shooting in May in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. Ogburn, her co-teacher and her students survived, and escaped through a window of their classroom with the help of law enforcement.

A hallway in the repurposed campus for kids in Uvalde.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

New backpacks with school supplies for the students are seen in Ogburn's 

classroom.Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

Although the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and state leaders have announced new security measures, the district has been under pressure from parents and other members of the community to offer more transparency and demonstrate its ability to keep students safe at school.

Ogburn said she felt there had been progress, though improvements are taking time.

"We're working towards being safe, and I think we're gonna be OK the first day of school, but it's not gonna be 100% done," she said. "But, it's in the process."

As she thought about physical security measures, she was also trying to anticipate what it would be like when students returned to the classroom for the first time since the May 24 shooting.

"I think I'm scared for how some of these kids are gonna react when they get here, and if I'm gonna be able to handle that part of it," she said.

Ogburn is preparing for a very different year ahead at her school in Uvalde.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

The site of the repurposed campus, dubbed Uvalde Elementary School.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

This year, she's added one feature to her classroom to try to help her students express and manage their feelings. It's a black poster that asks students to answer one question: How do you feel? Each student has their own cut out marker, and each day Ogburn and her co-teacher plan to encourage students to put their marker next to a corresponding feeling like, "ready to learn," "confused," or "angry."

"I'm thinking, OK what if this happens this day, and the whole class is feeling anxious or upset? There's no way we're gonna teach a lesson," she said. "We've gotta figure out ... how are we gonna calm 'em down, how are we gonna make this better?"

Ogburn is also concerned for herself.

She said she wanted to get through the year "without being a complete emotional wreck," as she works through her grief, particularly the deaths of fellow fourth grade teachers, Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia.

For several years at Robb, Ogburn and her co-teacher Trisha Albarado taught in the classroom next door to Mireles and Garcia.

"It's already been hard not having my two friends here with us, but having my co-teacher with me has helped a lot," she said. "Cause we both said if you don't come back, I'm not coming back. If we're not together, we're gonna fight to be together. Cause we can't do it without each other right now."

Plush toys and other objects are seen at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the mass shooting, three months after it happened.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

Ogburn shows her Uvalde Strong bracelets. Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR

Since the shooting, Ogburn said she's been treated for depression, anxiety and PTSD – as have other teachers who survived. She said what she heard and saw that day is something she'll live with for the rest of her life.

"Every day, there can be something that triggers an emotion that I don't want to have that day," she said. "And right now, every day is a constant reminder, cause everywhere I go, it's right in front of my face."

She almost didn't return to the classroom. But she thought about her own children, as well as Uvalde students.

"I thought, I gotta go back and show them first of all, we can't live in fear. I mean, you just never know when something's gonna happen," she said. "So I thought, I have to try not to live in that fear. I have to go forward and show these kids, OK, Ms. Ogburn can go back to school, then so can I."

Angel wings, pinwheels and a white cloth are seen near the entrance 

where the shooter entered Robb Elementary School back in May.

Verónica G. Cárdenas for NPR
Gaby Olivares and Yvette Benavides of Texas Public Radio translated this article into Spanish.

Uvalde Strong: A Community Comes Together to Heal by Ricardo Romo, Ph.D Jun 12, 2020

Such a beautiful and touching recent reflection by Dr. Ricardo Romo on his and his wife, Harriett's, visit to Uvalde. The library is an excellent place to center a lot of resources for the children.  Go to his earlier piece titled, "Latino Children Benefit From Uvalde’s Public Library," to learn more about his advocacy and ways you can support the families and community.

For ease, here is an image with QR codes that will allow you to make a contribution.

-Angela Valenzuela

Uvalde Strong: A Community Comes Together to Heal

Ricardo Romo, Ph.D Jun 12, 2020

Time can be the friend or the enemy of grief. We often hear that time will heal and that all things will pass. I wondered if that is true as I walked through the Uvalde Memorial at the town's main plaza.  It seemed that time stood still for those who came to pay respects that afternoon in 102-degree Texas summer weather. Everyone, including me, moved slowly and emotionally among the 21 crosses with names and tributes to the murdered students and teachers of Robb Elementary. Many who brought flowers and stuffed animals to the memorial that afternoon came from other places. My drive to Uvalde from San Antonio took less than two hours. The return trip seemed to be so much longer. 

Uvalde Memorial Plaza. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

My wife Harriett and I went to Uvalde Saturday, June 11, days after the horrific events of  May 24, 2022. We had wanted to go sooner, but we were told by friends who lived there that the town was overwhelmed by reporters, police officers, and visitors from out of town related to those killed. The streets were crowded with barricades still present around the school and near the town square. 

What brought us to Uvalde that Saturday was a food distribution event by the San Antonio Food Bank.  Harriett is on the Board and volunteered to help. When we arrived early that morning, the lines of cars were long for the 10 am opening. Uvalde is a poor community and many do not have the funds to feed their families. Cars drove by slowly, some waiting for two hours as the food was handed out to local families and the elderly. 

San Antonio Food Bank in Uvalde. June 11, 2022. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

We were also in Uvalde that weekend because of our efforts to assist El Progreso Memorial Library with its resources and summer programs. I am honored to be the Lead Volunteer for the Memorial Library fundraising campaign which began this month following the tragic events of May 24. I noted in an earlier newsletter that the children of Uvalde would be spending more time in the library with schools closing.  My generation and several after me have always considered schools safe havens.  Today the parents of children from Robb Elementary do not plan for their children to attend summer school, or perhaps even enroll this coming fall. Who can blame them.

Memorial window to Uvalde's children killed May 24th. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

At the Memorial Library, we met with our friend Dr. Mendell Morgan, Director and Head Librarian, and several library board members.  We learned of the pressing need to provide more learning activities for the young children of Uvalde. Many of the children who come to the library are bilingual, some are monolingual [Spanish only] and need literacy instructions and tutoring. Many of the books that have been donated recently are bilingual, which is a great benefit to children and parents. The library is receiving offers of assistance from several retired educators to set up literacy classes and mentoring opportunities. 

El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

The library’s strong internet connections are a tremendous help to children who do not have computers in their homes or whose homes do not have access to the internet. The library is also known for its creative programs and innovative incentives encouraging children to read.  Bright painted bicycles lined up in a row inside the library serve as a reminder that children in different age groups who read the most books in the summer reading program would be rewarded with a bike prize. The librarians have set aside a table with free books for children and families who need reading resources in their homes. In the staff section of the library, thousands of books lay stacked on the floor, new donations from local and non-residents alike. As we watched, amazed at the generosity of so many, a pickup truck with 12 large boxes of books arrived to deliver more books.  The staff is both overjoyed and overwhelmed with the donations and the work before them to process the books, place them on the shelves, and properly thank the donors.  

Free books are offered by  El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

The children we saw at the library on our visit represent Uvalde’s future. The next generations of educators, city and state officials, political representatives, lawyers, and medical providers are checking out books this summer at El Progreso Library. We owe the children of Uvalde great reading opportunities. Reading leads to learning and knowledge as well as healing. The healing from the tragic events at Robb Elementary School will be ongoing for years, maybe even decades. But we can do something for Uvalde’s children now. If you have extra children's books on your shelves or wish to donate to assure that an ample supply of books is available for children this summer, do so now.

Story Hour at El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Dr. Mendell Morgan.

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