Chico Peace and Justice Center

August 8, 2007

When the atomic bombs detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people within 300 meters of the hypocenters were instantly vaporized by the intense heat, leaving nothing behind but faint "shadows" on nearby walls, pavement, and other stone and concrete surfaces that weren't vaporized with them. Survivors traced these shadows with chalk, and the tracings have become a symbol for state terrorism and nuclear annihilation.

A group of people set out in the streets of Chico to chalk these shadows as a reminder of the devastation that took place sixty-two years ago.