WASHINGTON, D.C. — Portland, Ore. and Killeen, Texas residents today displayed hundreds of valentines cards and letters in local community centers to honor loved ones lost to COVID and to thank local first responders, teachers and health care workers. The displays are part of a movement urging greater action to end the COVID pandemic.
The actions, hosted by Trade Justice Education Fund and attended by local elected officials, called on the U.S. government to do more to increase COVID vaccine production abroad and finally end the pandemic. Residents of Bell County have been impacted profoundly by COVID over the past two years, and have seen more than 60,000 cases of the disease and about 750 deaths. The total COVID Texas death total is also nearing 80,000.
“We’ve heard countless stories today of people who are forced to be apart from their loved ones this Valentine’s Day and mourning of those lost to COVID,” said Clayton Tucker, Texas organizer with Trade Justice.” The stories being shared here in Killeen are the same stories being told all over Texas and the world.”
“The stories being told here today are the result of failed U.S. leadership in ending this pandemic,” said Yimei Shao, Pacific Northwest organizer with Trade Justice. “Portland isn’t the only locality that has suffered from COVID. These heartbreaking stories are the same stories being told in every one of our communities.”
The displays featured colorful, hand-made and digitally submitted valentines from local residents. Killeen City Councilmembers Ken Wilkerson and Rick Williams were in attendance, as were Elizabeth Thiel, president of Portland Association of Teachers and a McDaniel High School English teacher, and Andre Miller, a community justice organizer from the office of City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.
“Our community has been living under the cloud of COVID for almost two years now,” said Councilwoman Nash. “Every new variant causes additional disruptions and destruction in their lives. We need national and global leadership to finally end this pandemic and lift this cloud over all our heads.”