NEW ORLEANS — Music filled the air at Congo Square Sunday afternoon, a place close to Portia Pollock’s heart. When Pollock wasn’t at work healing others as a physical therapist, she played the drums here. Those who knew her say the turn out would of touched her.
“I think she’d be humbled, and I think she’d probably say she doesn’t deserve it, but that’s sort of who she was,” said Fatima Muse, Pollock’s niece.
Pollock was brutally murdered last Tuesday, when a man stabbed her during a car jacking outside of her home on North Dorgenois Street.
A tragic loss, leaving her loved ones heartbroken, but her friends and family wanted to celebrate how she lived, not how she died.
“She’d probably just be on the side with her hat and sunglasses, just holding down the beats. I think she’s happy that we’re loving her. She’s just very humble. She would be happy and proud,” said Pollock’s friend Denise Graves.
Dozens of people were at Sunday’s celebration, many beating away at their drums, while others hopped in the circle to dance. A seat in the drumming circle remained empty, to represent where Pollock should be sitting. And in front of the Congo Square ancestry tree, an alter, dedicated to Pollock.
“It’s a little overwhelming, but in a good way. I think she would be shocked to see so many people came out in support of her, but…. she deserves it,” said Muse.
Pollock — tragically taken too soon — but will always be remembered for her humility and desire to help others.