Funeral protests BP Gulf oil spill, remembers lost wildlife
Public marched throughout downtown


Photos compliments of Melissa Terrezza

On Sat., Sept. 4, 2010, Asheville activist Melissa Terrezza and area citizens participated in a public funeral dirge on the sidewalks of downtown Asheville. This procession honored the loss of human and animal life caused by the BP oil spill, said Terrezza who organized the demonstration.

In an earlier press release, she wrote: "The devastation of truth in media, the devastation caused to our environment from oil corporations, and the horrible reality of the diminishing wetlands, are all impetus for this funeral to exist."

The event was open to the public. The participants dressed in black. Cardboard coffins were painted black with stenciled images of pelicans, dolphins, and sea turtles.

Terrezza said that the funeral was to help "create solidarity amongst one another and to be given an opportunity to acknowledge the death and damage delivered to our Gulf coast."

The group began their march at noon on Sept. 4, 2010, at Sean Pace Gallery, 5 Walnut Street, in downtown Asheville.

► For more photos of the march, Click Here>

► For previous article about the march, Click Here>

► For YouTube video of the event, Click Here>