Wear Orange
On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others.
Wear Orange began on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday. Since then, Wear Orange has expanded to a period of three days each year: National Gun Violence Awareness Day (the first Friday in June) and Wear Orange Weekend (the accompanying weekend). Every year supporters of gun violence prevention come together to show their support online and in their communities.
Creative Council
Sports
Music
Literature and the Arts
“Blossom” – Wear Orange 2021
“Blossom” depicts the journey of a young girl, devastated after her friend is taken by gun violence, and her journey to find hope and inspiration as part of the Wear Orange movement to end gun violence. This short film was created by the Academy Award-winning Lion Forge Animation, the nation’s leading Black-owned animation studio, in partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.