Not a day goes by that Robert Peterson doesn’t think of his mother.
Yong Ae Yue, 63, was one of eight people killed last year when a gunman opened fire at three metro Atlanta spas. Of the eight victims whose lives were cut short, six were women of Asian descent.
More than 150 people gathered at Brookhaven’s Blackburn Park on Saturday afternoon to remember those killed during the “horrific acts of violence” that occurred last year.
Bundled up in coats, gloves and warm hats, those in attendance stood in the cold to pay their respects four days before the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.
For Peterson and his family, things haven’t gotten any easier in the 12 months since his mother’s killing.
It’s the little things he misses most: his mom’s smile, her home-cooking, even helping her change lightbulbs around the house.
He described his mother as a remarkable woman who adored her sons and would have done anything for him and his older brother.
“I miss her food. I miss her waiting by the door when we came over,” said Peterson, 39. “I just miss all those small things we took for granted when she was here.”
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Saturday’s event featured several speakers from Atlanta’s Asian American community. As heartbreaking as the killings at three spas in Cherokee and Fulton counties were, they said, the events of March 16, 2021, galvanized the community and brought people closer together.
Several state lawmakers and local officials attended the event, along with representatives for U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. A member of President Joe Biden’s staff also made the trip from Washington, said Phi Nguyen, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which helped organize the memorial.
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Peterson fought back tears as he addressed the crowd. And family members of two other victims – Suncha Kim and Daoyou Feng — penned heartfelt letters explaining what the gunman took from them when he walked into those spas and opened fire.
“My mother, the grandmother of my children, was killed by a person that none of us knew,” Kim’s daughter wrote. “She disappeared forever from our everyday lives in an instant.”
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Sonia Chang, a 28-year-old accountant who lives in Duluth, felt it was important to remember the eight victims killed in last year’s mass shootings and “share some of that grief” with their families.
“We have to stick together in order to thrive and succeed,” said Chang, who is Korean American. “Through this tragedy came resilience and a greater sense of community.”
