Mourners remember victims, love following Orlando tragedy

Skip to minute 49 of this video to view the segment on mourning after the Orlando tragedy

Download video.

Follow up video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYsA5berRO8

Essential question

How do you think you could contribute to a more loving world?

In the wake of Sunday’s deadly shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, people gathered around the country and world to show solidarity and share hopes for peace.

From San Francisco to Boston and around the world, people gathered to remember the 49 victims killed when a lone gunman entered Pulse, a gay nightclub, and opened fire just before closing time.

Mourners voiced frustration over the growing number of incidents of mass violence in the United States and called for an end to the hate that often motivates attacks like the one in Orlando.

“Every couple of months, it feels like some other group is targeted, a black church, a school, a gay club,” said one woman to mourners in Boston, Massachusetts.

Suzanne Barakat, a doctor in San Francisco who lost her brother when a gunman shot him and two other young Muslims in North Carolina last year, addressed mourners gathered in San Francisco.

“We reject your hatred, and we assert our love,” she said.

Key terms

lone wolf — a person who prefers to act or be alone

LGBTQ — an acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer

Islamic State — a militant organization in Syria and Iraq whose goal is the establishment and expansion of a state ruled by an Islamic religious and political leader

Warm up questions (before watching the video)

1. What do you know about what happened at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida?

2. Why might a person attend a vigil following a tragedy?

3. What are some groups who have historically been targeted or discriminated against in U.S. history?

Critical thinking questions (after watching the video)

1. Were there certain words said by those attending the vigils that struck you? Explain.

2. Why do you think the civil rights song “We Shall Overcome” was sung at the vigil in Washington, D.C.?

3. What other examples from history come to mind about a time when a tragedy led people to come together against hate?

Extension Activity

Watch the PBS NewsHour video “LGBT Americans target of violent hate crimes more than any other group” and discuss the following questions:

1. What is a hate crime?

2. Why do you think members of the LGBTQ community have been the target of discrimination?

3. Why is the shooting in Orlando a crime against all Americans?

4. Do you think authorities will investigate the role that race might have played in the shooting? Explain.

5. Do you think the Orlando shooting will help to promote more support for LGBTQ people? Explain.

Many thanks to Mr. Gravot’s 8th grade world geography class at Gunston Middle School in Arlington, Virginia who helped create the questions for the extension activity.

Visit PBS NewsHour Extra for more education resources designed to help teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. You can read the original story here. @NewsHourExtra