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Fifth National Gun Violence Awareness Day Paints America Orange

June 10, 2019

More Than 850 Events Took Place Throughout the Campaign; Wear Orange 2019 Participants Included More Than 2,500 Partners, Influencers, Landmarks & Buildings, and Elected Officials

#WearOrange Trended and More Than 200,000 People Posted to Social Media

NEW YORK — During National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend, June 8-9, more than 2,500 partner organizations, influencers, corporate brands, elected officials, and a series of buildings and landmarks joined the Wear Orange campaign to unite around a call to action to end gun violence.

Orange is the color that Hadiya Pendleton’s friends wore in her honor after she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 — just one week after performing at President Obama’s second inaugural parade in 2013. Orange invites everyone who agrees we can do more to save American lives from gun violence to do one simple thing: #WearOrange.

The Wear Orange campaign and National Gun Violence Awareness Day grew even larger in its fifth year. Full details on Wear Orange 2019 are available here.

Notable updates include:

  • More than 850 events took place across the country, with at least one event in every state. The events ranged from a rally in Woodlands, Texas — which held its very first event — to a community barbecue in Tampa, Florida, and included everything from bridge marches, community picnics, resource fairs, youth talent showcases and more.
  • There were more than 200,000 social media posts throughout Wear Orange Weekend, helping #WearOrange trend nationally all day on National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
  • Across all 50 states, more than 300 buildings, retail establishments and landmarks lit orange. Lighting up orange: the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and the Helmsley Building in New York City, the Superdome in New Orleans, Falls Park in Sioux Falls, Boathouse Row in Philadelphia, Coit Tower in San Francisco, the Washington National Cathedral, and more. A full list of buildings, stores and landmarks can be found here.
  • More than 200 cultural influencers and leaders participated in #WearOrange this weekend, including Julianne Moore, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Samantha Bee, Hailey Bieber, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Dern, Billy Eichner, Fall Out Boy, Jason George, Asia Jackson, Ta’Rhonda Jones, Natalie Morales, Conan O’Brien, Pearl Jam, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, Bradley Whitford, and Reese Witherspoon.
  • Members of the newly announced Everytown Athletic Council lent their support to the movement, including NBA player Joakim Noah, WNBA player Devereaux Peters and NFL players Xavier Rhodes, DeAndre Washington and Delanie Walker. The Golden State Warriors hosted 20 survivors of gun violence and volunteers with Moms Demand Action during Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals, featuring them on the Oracle Arena Jumbotron during the third quarter. Dozens of WNBA players wore orange tee shirts and orange shoelaces during games over Wear Orange Weekend.
  • Governors Ball Music Festival in New York, with the support of artists like Major Lazer, amplified #WearOrange through its social media platforms and on-site with both audience and artist-facing activations. Michael Franti turned his sold-out Red Rocks show orange. Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago encouraged fans and artists alike to wear orange and supported the local Moms Demand Action chapter.
  • ATX Television Festival in Austin and Printer’s Row LitFest in Chicago went orange for Wear Orange Weekend. At the Tony Awards, advocates and survivors of gun violence wearing orange ribbons were invited onstage during a performance by the cast of Oklahoma!
  • Prominent current and former elected leaders joined the #WearOrange campaign, including Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Steny Hoyer, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo, Mike Thompson, Chris Murphy, James Clyburn, Jerry Nadler and Dianne Feinstein.
  • 2020 Presidential Candidates supporting National Gun Violence Awareness Day included Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobachar, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang.
  • More than 170 members of Congress participated in the #WearOrange campaign online and on Capitol Hill spearheaded by Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Robin Kelly.
  • More than 1,200 elected officials in at least 35 states lent their support to the campaign. Twenty-two proclamations and resolutions were issued from legislatures and executives throughout the nation for National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Additionally, cities and counties across the country issued nearly 270 proclamations.
  • More than 250 mayors participated in the Wear Orange campaign, issuing more than 250 mayoral proclamations recognizing National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Some of the participants included Mayor Marty Walsh (Boston, MA), Mayor Jill Techel (Napa Valley, CA), Mayor Randall Woodfin (Birmingham, AL), Mayor Rick Scott (Little Rock, AK), Mayor Luke Bronin (Hartford, CT), Mayor Tom McNamara (Rockford, IL), Mayor Al Heggins (Salisbury, NC), Mayor Thomas Roach (White Plains, NY) and Mayor Sylvester Turner (Houston, TX).
  • More than 100 corporate brands supported orange including Levi Strauss & Co., DICK’S Sporting Goods, Amalgamated Bank, Penguin Random House, TOMS, RXR Realty, Good Housekeeping, Warner Music Group and The Wing, among others.
  • Viacom and Univision Communications Inc. promoted #WearOrange throughout their respective platforms. Media brands supporting orange include People, Parents, Allure, Dame, Essence, Good Housekeeping, and Woman’s Day.
  • Fashion brands including Citizens of Humanity and AGOLDE and fashion influencers including Clare Vivier, Cynthia Rowley, Kenneth Cole, Prabul Gurung and Karla Welch, among other members of the Everytown Fashion Council embraced Wear Orange through their respective platforms.
  • More than 200 national membership groups, non-profit organizations and faith partners across various issue areas joined the coalition of organizations turning orange including March For Our Lives, Amnesty International, National Domestic Workers Alliance, The Bishops United Against Gun Violence, American Medical Students Association, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Noah’s Arc Foundation and Media Matters For America. More than 500 local non-profits, faith partners, businesses and community organizations partnered in support of local grassroots events nationwide. A list of partners can be found here.

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