Durham anti-violence vigil features homicide memorial quilt with 1,000+ names

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The Restorative Justice Project, a religious coalition, and Elizabeth Street United Methodist Church hosted their 33rd annual anti-violence vigil Saturday morning at the church in Durham.

The event featured The Durham Homicide Memorial Quilt which is made up of more than 1,000 patches with the names and death-dates of more than 1,000 people who were violently killed in Durham County. The names are from 2024, dating back to 1994, when artist Sidney Brodie began to create the quilt to express grief and frustration while remembering and honoring homicide victims.

Forty additional names were added from last year’s deadly crimes.

“It is something that helps families really get through their pain in the loss of their loved ones.”

Tasha Mebane’s  21-year-old daughter, Karizma, was shot and killed in 2022 at a Durham gas station in the 1900 block of Cheek Road.

“Losing her, in her absence, it has created a big hole in our hearts. And I just want the world to know just how beautiful she was and that she exuded compassion and love and grace and she will greatly be missed.”

Sidney Brodie, Durham Homicide Memorial Quilt creator, spoke about the issues.

“I had to make sure that if there was a homicide in our city, it would be documented and it would be documented in the form of like a comforter, of a quilt,” Brodie said.

The very first name Brodie stitched was one he heard when he worked as a 911 dispatcher, and a call came in about 2-year-old Shaquanna Atwater.

“She was about to turn three when she was killed after being struck by a bullet that was not intended for her. There was some push back and some outrage in the community. Sort of short lived, but it was something that I could not really get out of my mind,” Brodie said.

Since little Shaquanna’s patch, the quilt has stretched to more than 60 feet with more than 1,000 patches of names for every homicide victim in Durham County and counting.

The quilt has traveled near and far to vigils and community events,

Brodie said he prays that soon the quilt, stitched with love and loss, will find its final resting place — a permanent home to memorialize the victims and serve as an educational resource to continue shining a light on awareness against violent crime.

“It belongs to this community and we like to do what we can to help spread the message and help find solutions to the violence that we see all around us.”

“(It) is unfortunate,” vigil organizer Rev. Annette Love said. “This violence has to stop. It’s very impactful.“

According to the Durham Police Department’s second quarter crime report for 2025, violent crime — including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — is down nearly 20 percent over the same period in 2024.