New Mexico Mercury

My most striking memories of being on the National Mall for the One Million Bones installation are of the conversations I overheard. Families of four would stop and look. One of the younger family members would ask, “What’s that?” One of the older family members would pause for approximately a moment of silence. Then, I’d listen as the adult gracelessly tries to choreograph an explanation as to why there is a mass grave in front of the United States Capitol without stepping on the word “genocide.” Then, the next 10 minutes of family “vay-kay” that was originally scheduled for the Smithsonian is derailed into a paradigm shifting discussion about…well…genocide. By the time the family picks up where they left off, all four are familiar, if not comfortable, with the uncomfortable word…that is still a daily reality in too many parts of the world.

For me, being in Washington, D.C. during One Million Bones was an opportunity to do something, to help where I had otherwise felt helpless. And when I say do something, I don’t mean my role as host/stage manager nor my invitation to write and read a poem for the occasion. I mean do something about genocide. From the genocide that historically stains the soil of this country to the genocide around the world that continues to this day, I finally felt like I was part of a movement of hands and hearts that was actually helping. We were making more than a statement, we were making a spectacle, making a sight…helping people see.

Unfortunately, with current speculation in the international community that chemical weapons have been used in the name of “ethnic cleansing” (and the spectre that the United States of America is in the position to add to that body count whether we bomb or look away), it seems like One Million Bones is more than a reminder. It is a resolution. Last week, I had to opportunity to visit with my friend and One Million Bones visionary Naomi Natale on New Mexico PBS’s ¡Colores! Program.