Wear Orange 2021: Hundreds of thousands of Americans united to end gun violence

Wear Orange began on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya Pendleton’s 18th birthday. Hadiya’s friends were looking for a way to honor her after she was shot and killed on a Chicago playground, and chose the color orange because it’s what hunters wear to protect themselves and others in the woods. Today, Wear Orange honors Hadiya and the more than 100 Americans shot and killed every day, as well as the hundreds more who are wounded.

This year during National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 4 and Wear Orange Weekend from June 5-6, more than 1,000 partner organizations, influencers, corporate brands, elected officials, and landmarks joined hundreds of thousands of Americans to unite around a call to end gun violence. See how else we recognized Wear Orange in 2021!

Hosted more than 300 events

• Thousands of grassroots volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action and more than 200 local partners hosted more than 300 events and activities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

175,000 social media posted throughout Wear Orange Weekend

• #WearOrange trended nationally on National Gun Violence Awareness Day for the sixth year in a row.

Collected objects belonging to gun violence survivors to display at the Gun Violence Memorial Project

• The National Building Museum in Washington D.C collected objects belonging to victims of gun violence for the Gun Violence Memorial Project — a project designed by MASS Design Group that features four houses built of 700 glass bricks; each house represents the average number of American lives taken by gun violence each week.

More than 150 influencers and cultural leaders participated in #WearOrange

• John Legend, Shonda Rhimes, Julianne Moore, Sophia Bush, Chelsea Clinton, Kerry Washington, Michelle Kwan, Lily Collins, Bette Midler, Kevin Bacon, Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, Katie Couric, Michael Franti, Clare Vivier, Naomi Scott, Mariah Carey, Reese Witherspoon, and Jason George, as well as bands Anti-Flag, Bon Iver, and X Ambassadors are among those who participated in #WearOrange.

More than 450 landmarks, buildings, and billboards turned orange

• The Empire State Building, Coit Tower, Niagara Falls, Los Angeles City Hall, Washington National Cathedral, A Carousel for Missoula (MT), The Nashville Sign, Cheyenne Depot Museum (WY), the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (Boston), and Lamar Advertising digital billboards turned orange.

Wear Orange partnered with the sports community

• Wear Orange partnered with the sports community once again through a launch event with the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and Monumental Sports & Entertainment, game day participation from players across the WNBA and the San Francisco Giants of the MLB, and activations from more athletes, coaches, and teams across the WNBA, NBA, NFL, and MLB.

More than 190 federal lawmakers supported Wear Orange on social media

• Federal lawmakers supported Wear Orange on social media across multiple branches of government, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and members of the Cabinet and White House.
• Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) also introduced resolutions recognizing June 4th as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and June as National Gun Violence Awareness Month to honor Hadiya’s birthday—June 2, 1997—and to remember all victims and survivors of gun violence, with participation from the Congressional Black Caucus and both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees official accounts.

More than 180 mayors from around the country participated

• Mayor LaToya Cantrell (New Orleans, LA), Mayor Quinton Lucas (Kansas City, MO), and Mayor Jorge Elorza (Providence, RI) were among the mayors who participated in Wear Orange, issuing proclamations declaring June 4 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, lighting, municipal landmarks orange, and posting on social media.

Released “Blossom,” an animated short on finding hope and inspiration as part of the Wear Orange movement

Lion Forge Animation, a leading Black-owned animation studio which won an Academy Award in 2020 for the animated short, “Hair Love,” collaborated with Everytown to produce “Blossom,” an original short film which powerfully illustrates the experience of joining the Wear Orange movement.

Donate to Support Community Organizations for Wear Orange

Wear Orange has ended, but you can still support community organizations committed to ending gun violence. This year for National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers, in partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, have pledged to support organizations committed to ending gun violence, racial injustice and other root causes of gun violence, and suicide prevention. Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund will match gifts made before the fundraising campaign closes at 12am EST on June 21 up to a total match of $150,000.