East Bay woman builds memorial to local victims of violence

OAKLAND (CBS SF) – On Monday morning, East Bay native Cassandra Madison planted a cross into the ground in front of St. Columba Catholic Church in Oakland. It stood with many others -- each representing a homicide victim in Oakland this year. 

"I'm hoping that everybody realizes that these are really people's lives that were taken from them, and they have to be represented. They still have voices," Madison said.

Each cross has a name, their age, and the day they were killed. Some victims are as young as 14 and 15 years old. 

"They didn't have a chance to graduate. They didn't have a chance to do anything. And I don't know what the situation was, but it just hurts me that they didn't even have a chance," she said. 

Every cross bears a reminder of the lives lost. For Cassandra, it's her daughter Charnise. 

A cross was planted for Charnise in 2014 after she was shot and killed. It's the cross Cassandra still carries with her. 

"She's my strength and she's my angel and she's my get up and go," Madison said. 

Madison carries a list of the names she still needs to write. 

"So all of these I got to put in. The oldest is 71 that I've put in, the youngest is 14. And the average age of these homicides is 35," she said. 

Her hope is that people who see the crosses also see more that needs to be done. 

"We can't continue to keep putting these crosses up because these are really lives that we're representing. These are real people," she said.