Classroom of Compassion

01/22/2026

In the days following the January 21, 2023 mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the community memorial created in Monterey Park to honor the 11 lives lost.

This memorial was built as a space for collective mourning, remembrance, and love, an offering from a city choosing compassion in the face of unimaginable grief.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May compassion continue to guide how we show up for one another—today and always.

01/22/2026

On January 21, 2023, following an all-day Lunar New Year Festival, a mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio took the lives of 11 people. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Los Angeles County.

On this three-year anniversary, we honor those we lost and hold their families, loved ones, and our entire community close. We acknowledge the grief that continues to live in our city and the many ways it is carried quietly each day.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May compassion continue to guide how we show up for one another—today and always.

01/21/2026

Wanted to share some of the process behind creating the 11 altars following the Monterey Park shooting three years ago. When the news broke, we immediately went into action. Endless gratitude to , who drove all the way out to be with us and generously shared her time, skills, and compassion with us and the city of Los Angeles.

This memorial stands as a testament to what it means to show up, for our neighbors, for our elders, and for one another, when words are not enough.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May we continue to meet grief with compassion, and may that compassion guide how we care for each other.

01/21/2026

Three years ago, a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park was forever changed. After a day meant for joy and renewal, violence at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio took the lives of 11 members of our community, an act that remains the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles County.

Today, we pause to remember them and to hold close the families and loved ones who continue to carry this loss. Grief does not disappear with time; it settles into our city, into everyday moments, into the spaces where joy and sorrow now coexist.
In the face of such heartbreak, care becomes a responsibility. It means gathering, listening, and making room for one another’s pain. In the days that followed the tragedy, our community chose connection over isolation, remembrance over forgetting.

These images and videos reflect the memorial that emerged in response, a place shaped by love, sorrow, and collective healing.

This memorial stands as a testament to what it means to show up, for our neighbors, for our elders, and for one another, when words are not enough.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May we continue to meet grief with compassion, and may that compassion guide how we care for each other.

01/21/2026

Three years ago, a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park was forever changed. After a day meant for joy and renewal, violence at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio took the lives of 11 members of our community, an act that remains the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles County.

Today, we pause to remember them and to hold close the families and loved ones who continue to carry this loss. Grief does not disappear with time; it settles into our city, into everyday moments, into the spaces where joy and sorrow now coexist.
In the face of such heartbreak, care becomes a responsibility. It means gathering, listening, and making room for one another’s pain. In the days that followed the tragedy, our community chose connection over isolation, remembrance over forgetting.

These images and videos reflect the memorial that emerged in response, a place shaped by love, sorrow, and collective healing.

This memorial stands as a testament to what it means to show up, for our neighbors, for our elders, and for one another, when words are not enough.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May we continue to meet grief with compassion, and may that compassion guide how we care for each other.

01/20/2026

On January 21, 2023, following an all day Lunar New Year Festival, a mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park claimed 11 lives. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Los Angeles County.

On the 3 year anniversary, we honor those we lost and hold their families, loved ones, and our entire community in our hearts. We recognize the grief that continues to live in our city and the many ways it is carried quietly each day.

In moments of profound loss, compassion becomes action. It means showing up for one another, creating space to mourn, and standing beside our neighbors in their pain. In the days after the shooting, our community of Los Angeles did just that—choosing care over fear.

At Classroom of Compassion, we were honored to help create a community memorial, a place where grief could be shared, stories could be held, and love could be expressed for those we lost. For weeks following this tragedy, our community of Los Angeles continued their outpouring of support on-site at this memorial, turning tragedy into communal care. Our hearts will always be in Monterey Park.

We remember (ages in 2023):
My My Nhan, 65
Lilan Li, 63
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Muoi Dai Ung, 67
Hongying Jian, 62
Yu Lun Kao, 72
Chia Ling Yau, 76
Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
Wen Tau Yu, 64
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Diana Man Ling Tom, 70

May compassion continue to guide how we show up for one another, today and always.

08/28/2025

Alanís García, 56, de Huajúmbaro, Michoacán.

Alanís García died after falling 30 feet from the roof of a greenhouse while fleeing immigration agents at Glass House, according to his family. He was airlifted to Ventura County Medical Center and placed on life support. His family, including his niece Yesenia Durán, later made the difficult decision to remove life support. His body was returned to Huajúmbaro, where he is survived by his wife and daughter.

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Isaac Alanís, 28, who grew up near Alanís García and considered him an uncle—his mother’s cousin—remembers him as a constant presence. “He’d come over for dinner almost every night after work, around 6 p.m.,” Alanís said. “He loved everything from menudo and pozole to Chinese food, though he always used a fork because he didn’t know how to use chopsticks.”
Before working at Glass House, Alanís García spent a decade at a flower nursery, Alanís said.

On Sundays, they would often visit the flea market in Oxnard, just to walk around and pass the time. “He was an extrovert,” Alanís recalled. “Always laughing.”

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08/23/2025

07/16/2025

Los Angeles is mourning. Our neighbors are missing, our families are being torn apart and our city is being ripped away from the sense of safety that once existed here. These past few weeks, ICE has terrorized the city, pulling people from their homes and job sites, separating families in broad daylight, and leaving loved ones without answers.

May we continue fighting for those that have been disappeared. May we remember those that are dying including Jaime Alanis, a 57 year old farm worker who died as a result of a raid in Camarillo. May we continue centering the families, children and loved ones being harmed in our thoughts and may we never forget who we are fighting for.

To our fellow Angelenos, I hope u know how loved u are. I hope u know how much u mean to the world. I hope u know u belong here.

06/21/2025

Kids deserve better.
Families deserve better.
We deserve better.

The violence being inflicted on children, families and communities around Los Angeles has been horrifying to witness. The trauma and harm happening now will taken generations to recover from.

Our hearts are with every individual out there fighting to survive, to stay alive and to stay safe.

I hope u know how loved u are.

I hope u know u belong here.