MELBOURNE — Amid emotional fallout from the Pulse nightclub massacre in nearby Orlando, Pastor Glenn Dames of St. James AME Church in Titusville preaches that we should unite as brothers and sisters — much like the words of Sister Sledge's 1979 pop hit "We Are Family."
"We will not be divided. We will stand together. And we will not allow some cowardly terrorist to pull us apart," Dames proclaimed to hundreds of candlelight-vigil attendees Friday night in the eastern Florida city, generating growing cheers and applause.
"We will cry together. We will rise together. We will laugh together. And we will be one," Dames said.
Friday night, Space Coast Pride organized a vigil at Eau Gallie Square to memorialize the 49 dead and 53 wounded by shooter Omar Mateen early Sunday at the South Orange Avenue gay nightclub. The event provided a mixture of applause, tears, occasional laughter, songs, speeches and dancers from last month’s “Muscle Memory: Dance/Art/Flow” performance exhibition at the Derek Gores Gallery.
Donors distributed free candles, tissues, colored roses, bottled water, pizza slices, coffee, iced tea and paper fans to ward off the heat.
Long sheets of paper lined three stretches of paver pathways inside the square, and attendees used markers to leave messages of hope such as "Prayers For Orlando," "Peace," "49," "God Bless Our Brothers And Sisters," and "More Love Less Hate." On stage, a heart-shaped wreath of roses bore a lavender sash with "#Pulse" in gold lettering. A U.S. flag and rainbow flag hung in the background.
About 8:10 p.m., a trio of speakers slowly recited the names of the gunman's 49 victims as hundreds of candles flickered across the bandshell lawn. A moment of silence followed for the fallen.
The vigil concluded with "Imagine" by John Lennon. Many attendees held two fingers aloft. Some swayed arm-in-arm, embraced and cried.
Space Coast Pride is Brevard County’s leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organization. Last September, the group organized the county’s first-ever gay pride parade in the Eau Gallie section of Melbourne during its annual Pride festival. President Lexi Wright estimated 4,500 to 5,000 people attended that event.
"Thank you so much for coming out tonight. You are amazing. And we are so grateful that you have come to stand with us," Wright told the crowd Friday with her hand covering her heart, voice breaking.
"We are one Orlando," Wright said, raising her fist to applause.
Melbourne City Councilwoman Molly Tasker, Palm Bay City Councilwoman Michele Paccione and Brevard County School Board Chairman Andy Ziegler addressed the crowd, as did Palm Bay resident Craig Drayton. His cousin, Deonka Deidra Drayton, a 32-year-old Pulse employee, was killed in the mass shooting.
"She was very popular. Very fun, energetic. Everyone wanted to be around her," Drayton said, standing offstage while vigil attendees were lighting their candles by sharing flames.
"She really loved her job, basketball, cars. And she just loved who she was," he said.
Drayton, who works as a Palm Bay Starbucks barista, asked vigil attendees to write messages on a basketball that he plans to ship to Deonka's father in South Carolina.
Rev. Ron Fox leads the Center for Spiritual Living Space Coast in Cocoa Village. He urged vigil attendees to perform acts of kindness, no matter how small.
"Any act of kindness left undone leaves the world a little poorer — and so is the one who misses the opportunity. This is our time to shape the future of our country for decades," Fox said.
"Our choice is business as usual, or to forge a new path that includes everyone. So that the scenes that played on our TV this week are history, not current events."
Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter
