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“I Know It Happened and It Happened Like This” is founded on the idea that we, as citizens, are equally responsible for the welfare of an entire community, not only for the issues that directly affect us as individuals. It intends to promote social awareness by changing cold statistics into a visual and participatory experience. It stemmed from the tradition of the small shrines that people create on the streets to mark the site of a homicide. Whereas, in actual street-side memorials, it is only the closest friends and family members of homicide victims who leave the items—typically stuffed animals, candles, flowers, articles of clothing and/or photographs—I wanted to see what it would look like if the entire community came out to leave items in support of those families. Could the memorial grow so high that it could be seen from every home in Rochester?

Within the first couple of weeks, over 150 people responded. Many more offered their time and expertise after that. Others visited the monument throughout the installation to leave offerings. A candlelit vigil brought religious, academic, government, and community leaders together to take a unified stance against violence. Ultimately, the installation became both a siren for crisis and a beacon of hope.