In the Wake of the Tragedy in Santa Fe Everytown Announces Coalition of Cultural Influencers, Partners, Landmarks, Brands and Elected Officials Confirmed to Wear Orange on National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 1; “Wear Orange” Campaign Inspired by Chicago Teens Working to Honor The Lives of Gun Violence Survivors and Victims
During Wear Orange Weekend From June 2nd-3rd, Americans Will Gather At More Than 420 Grassroots Events, Uniting Around the Idea That We Can End Gun Violence
NEW YORK — The Wear Orange campaign today announced that a broad-based coalition of cultural influencers, brands, non-profit partner organizations, elected officials and a series of iconic landmarks will be participating in the fourth National Gun Violence Awareness Day, June 1, and events honoring gun violence survivors and victims throughout Wear Orange weekend, taking place June 2 and 3.
In the wake of the recent mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, Americans across the country will wear orange on June 1 to remember the victims of the Santa Fe tragedy, and every other person whose life has been cut short because of 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 2nd inaugural parade in 2013. Orange honors the more than 90 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day — and demands action.
Details unveiled today include:
- Univision Communications Inc. and Viacom will be promoting #WearOrange extensively through their respective platforms. Univision will share gun violence survivor testimonials on its social media platforms and lend news coverage to events with network talent wearing orange. MTV, VH1, and other Viacom channels will turn its on-air logos orange to honor the campaign. Other corporate brands supporting orange include People, Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Redbook, them., OkCupid, ATTN:, The Standard Hotels and RXR Realty.
- Teen Vogue will host the 2018 Teen Vogue Summit in New York City on June 1-3, featuring a roundtable discussion with Nza-Ari Khepra, the founder of Project Orange Tree and co-founder of Wear Orange, and other gun violence prevention advocates.
- As part of the fourth National Gun Violence Awareness Day, more than 15 brands have teamed up with Everytown for an online marketplace featuring orange fashion, home, beauty and lifestyle items to support the gun violence prevention movement, with many of the products custom made for Wear Orange. Brands featured in the marketplace include Areaware, East Fork Pottery, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and Sassy Lips.
- Fashion institutions like Barneys New York and Gucci will join other cultural influencers including members of the Everytown Creative Council, Fashion Council and Authors Council to #WearOrange and honor gun violence survivors and victims through their social media platforms and websites.
- Nike Elite Youth Basketball 17U teams will wear orange patches during their games to raise awareness of daily gun violence throughout the EYBL season.
- More than 100 skylines and key buildings across the country will begin turning Orange on June 1 for National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend — including the Empire State Building, which will host a lighting ceremony with Andy Cohen. Other landmarks turning orange include the Niagara Falls, the Helmsley Building in New York, Zakim Memorial Bridge in Boston, the Pepsi Center in Denver, Falls Park in Sioux Falls, and more. A full list of landmarks confirmed to date can be found here.
- More than 150 national membership groups, non-profit organizations and faith partners continue to join the coalition of organizations turning orange on June 1, with groups like Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Grandparents Against Gun Violence, Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Homicide Justice Alliance, Transformative Justice Coalition, The Riverside Church and the Union Reform for Judaism taking part in Wear Orange.
- Mayors from around the country have already agreed to participate in the Wear Orange campaign. Some of the participants include Mayor Brandi Harless (Paducah, Ky.), Mayor Sly James (Kansas City, Mo.), Mayor David Berger (Lima, Ohio) and Mayor Robert Conley (Madison, N.J.).
Spearheaded by volunteers and supporters who are part of the Wear Orange campaign, more than 420 events will occur across all 50 states during Wear Orange weekend, taking place June 2-3. Marquee events are happening in Alexandria, Va., Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego and Seattle. These events will bring people together to showcase the full diversity of the gun violence prevention movement and the creativity of Wear Orange supporters and will include concerts, picnics in the park, Orange Walks and meet-ups at local landmarks as they turn orange. Additionally, Everytown for Gun Safety and the New York chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America will be teaming up with a broad coalition of organizations including the Women’s March, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Man Up and G-Macc Inc. to support the student-led Youth Over Guns March taking place in New York on June 2nd.
All events are searchable via an online map (available here) and easy to track throughout the weekend by following the #WearOrange hashtag.
In the years since the launch of Wear Orange and the first-ever National Gun Violence Awareness Day in June 2015, the effort has reached millions of Americans. On December 14, 2015, as part of the commemoration of the three-year mark since the Sandy Hook shooting and in response to the San Bernardino shooting, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, hosted more than 100 “Orange Walks” to help amplify the gun safety movement.
Last year more than 500 noteworthy individuals and organizations, including President Obama, Julianne Moore, Kim Kardashian West, Amy Schumer, Vogue, Teen Vogue and Viacom answered the call, making their support for the movement loud and clear. And across the country, nearly 250,000 people took action online and in person at events. Since then, the Wear Orange campaign has grown exponentially. On June 1, hundreds of thousands of Americans will stand up once more to say that we must do more to end gun violence.
Full details on Wear Orange 2018 are available here.