Santa Fe — SANTA FE, Texas - One of the world’s biggest superstars paid tribute to the victims of the Santa Fe shooting during his concert in Houston on Wednesday night.
Justin Timberlake dedicated his song “Until the End of Time” to those killed while wearing a “Santa Fe Strong” shirt.
The three words are dedicated to a whole community that mourns the loss of 10 loved ones.
Santa Fe resident and Patriot T’s T-shirt shop owner Earnest Roberts created the slogan and design.
“I want to show strength here,” Roberts said. “This community is not like the average communities. We’re tight-knit, pro-God. This is why it hurts so bad here is because we’re seeing evil versus good here in a way.”
The symbolic logo of the town’s name buried in the word "strong" has been hand pressed on T-shirts over and over by Roberts and his family since the tragedy.
“That is definitely helping me cope so I can only assume that it helps others cope,” Roberts said.
Roberts created the shirts as a way to show his love for Santa Fe High School students and their families.
He’s lost count on how many shirts have been made and sold because the demand has been so overwhelming.
He thinks he’s at least 3,000 shirts behind.
“I honestly don’t know,” Roberts said. “I think we’ve probably ordered about 700 or 800 shirts a day since the event and I’m at least 3,000 shirts behind.”
The shop even took a call from Justin Timberlake’s team requesting “Santa Fe Strong” shirts.
“This gentleman called and said I need two shirts for Justin Timberlake," said Aurora Roberts, co-owner of Patriot T’s and Santa Fe High alumna. "I almost giggled and I said, ‘Well I’m sorry we’re out of stock. We’re not taking new orders.’”
Timberlake wore one of the shirts during his concert.
"He sent me a picture (later that night)," Aurora Roberts said. "It was true. He was wearing our T-shirt. It was mind blowing. We were stressed all day and that just made our night. It was awesome. Just to see him wear our colors and our city name on his chest was awesome.”
Earnest Roberts has put a halt to any new orders so can he catch up but will continue making them as long as people want to show they’re “Santa Fe Strong."
“I can’t keep up fast enough with them but they’re understanding about it. They’ll come back. They’ll wait, do whatever. They’ll offer to help me,” Earnest Roberts said.
Also, he said 100 percent of the profits made from these shirts go to the Santa Fe Education Foundation.
Any day after 2 p.m., residents can bring in their own blank shirts to the shop and they’ll press them for free with for a $10 donation to the foundation. Earnest Roberts said online orders can still be placed, and Patriot T’s will try to fulfill them in four to six weeks.
