Dear Rita

"Dear Rita" is a one-hour account of one family’s loss, which embodies the spirit of so many others in the United States.

On a Saturday in March of 2000, Rita Martinez prepared her Grandma's favorite lunch - a grilled cheese sandwich. Rita kissed her Grandma and went into the bedroom to watch cartoons.

Moments later, a bullet broke the front window, tore through the bedroom wall and lodged in her head, killing the eleven-year-old. Rita's mother vowed to fight for sensible gun laws, a promise that put her on the bus to the Million Mom March.

For the remainder of the year, Rita's family, teachers and classmates opened their lives and hearts to us, in hopes that others will see and hear how the horrific details of gun violence impact families, friends and society. We have learned much about Rita's short, beautiful life and the sense of loss and grief shared by those who knew and miss her.

In a time when many of us are numbed to accounts of "yet another killing," the intimate, honest and emotional testimony compels viewers to acknowledge our collective grief, as citizens of a country where 10 children die from gun violence every day.

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