Yearbook Memorializing Victims Killed in 2018 School Shootings

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Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, Activist Julia Cordover, Search For Common Ground, Amani Project and COMMON Announce Yearbook Memorializing Victims Killed in 2018 School Shootings First Public Viewing of The 2018 Yearbook December 11 - December 29, 2019 Opening Event, December 11, 6-8pm Remarks by Scarlett Lewis, Julia Cordover and Alex Bogusky 126 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY (DUMBO) Gun violence in schools is a national epidemic, as the shocking number of incidents in 2018 plainly shows. During 2018, 114 children and adults were shot, killed or injured at American schools. The acceptable amount is zero, yet these numbers are growing. To make this issue tangible, Scarlett Lewis, a Sandy Hook mother and founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement; Julia Cordover, student body president at the time of the Parkland shooting; Search For Common Ground; Amani Project; and COMMON have produced a physical yearbook that memorializes the 37 victims who were killed in school shootings during 2018. Those remembered in The 2018 Yearbook include victims of gun violence in K-12 schools and universities during school hours or school-sponsored events. Each victim is remembered with an empty “yearbook photo” alongside their name. “As a society, we’ve been making this yearbook for decades; we just didn’t realize it,” said Alex Bogusky, founder of COMMON. “Using the normally innocent and hopeful form of a yearbook to capture this tragedy is an attempt to jar us out of complacency.” The concept for the Yearbook originated with creative director Andrew Goldin, Cordover’s cousin, and came to life with the help of Bogusky, their goal being to bring much-needed attention to an ongoing tragedy. “The time has come for each of us to be part of the solution,” said Lewis. “It is one thing to empathize with the victims and feel their pain, but quite another to actively do something to keep our kids safe. The Yearbook is a physical reminder that we are accountable for our children’s safety and a call to uphold that responsibility.” “The memory of these 37 who died can move us to set aside our differences and work together to keep all children safe,” said Shamil Idriss, CEO of Search For Common Ground. “I cannot imagine a higher calling than to protect the lives of children nor a more basic responsibility.” Copies of the Yearbook will be mailed in December to all 100 Senators, Governors, 2020 presidential candidates, and President Trump. The Yearbook will not be made available to the public, but viewing exhibitions will be curated starting in New York. Visitors will have an opportunity to view the Yearbook and learn about organizations that can help turn their pain into action. Exhibition remains open through December 29, 2019. For more information about The 2018 Yearbook and Exhibition visit www.the2018yearbook.com