From Rhode Island to Texas - Stories from our smallest state to one of our largest!

This afternoon I spoke with two amazing organizers- Matthew Remington from Austin, Texas and The Campaign for Burma Student Group from Brown University. 

As people toured the beautiful Capitol building that Saturday, and wandered the grounds they probably heard the music Ibrahim Aminou was playing on his drums, handmade guitar and the sound of his voice singing as people dressed in white laid down 2,200 bones. 

Would it have caught your attention? It caught the attention of many individuals in Austin – locals and tourists alike, around sixty people stopped by that day to lay down a bone with One Million Bones/Austin. 

As I spoke with Matthew he reflected on the participants laying bones – from an elderly couple to young kids and every age group in between. “It was really amazing to see young kids especially, who had made bones at a workshop with us before lay their bone down and take such pride in what they were doing” Matthew shared with me. 

An ongoing theme I’ve heard when talking with organizers is their fear that working so intimately with the bones will desensitize them from the meaning and when they’re all installed it won’t have as much of an effect on them. I asked Matthew if he had that feeling as well and he shared with me “Yes, but seeing the bones installed – there are no words, there was a presence there for sure.”  

The Campaign for Burma Student Chapter at Brown University had the same sentiments. As a club they have 6-8 members who made all 350 of their bones for the installation. They installed them early in the morning on April 28 (starting at 6 am!!) on a grassy walkway called College Hill. 

People passing by thought the installation was “morbid” looking at the bones until they read the signs the students put out. “The signs kept falling over – but people kept reading them even on the ground!” they told me. 

One of the amazing things they shared with me was how after the installation the campus took notice of this small club who created a stir. “I had a friend tell me about the installation without even knowing I was a part of it! It was really cool to see how many people took notice!” said Inga Holmdahl. 

And that’s an important part of what we’re doing.  Those of us doing the work are also hoping that the bones we make and the installations we set out will make enough stir that others will hear about it, and get involved themselves. We’re raising awareness and funds exponentially.  If you’ve been thinking about participating, head over to the Students Rebuild website and sign a team up. Be part of what folks are talking about.