Stories
Wear Orange 2022: Hundreds of thousands of Americans united to end gun violence
7.22.2022
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 110 people shot and killed every day in the United States, as well as the hundreds more who are wounded.
In 2022, during National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 3 and Wear Orange Weekend from June 4-5, more than 1,500 partner organizations, influencers, corporate brands, elected officials, and landmarks joined hundreds of thousands of Americans to demand a future free from gun violence. See how else we recognized Wear Orange in 2022!
Hosted more than 370 events
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Thousands of grassroots volunteers from Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action and more than 200 local partners hosted more than 370 events and activities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. They included rallies calling for Senate action on gun violence prevention in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Columbia and Austin; walks across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco; and community gatherings in Jacksonville, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina.
More than 212,000 social media posts throughout Wear Orange Weekend
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#WearOrange trended nationally on National Gun Violence Awareness Day for the seventh year in a row.
An Orange White House
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This year President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden illuminated the White House in orange on Friday, June 3 in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange weekend.
More than 200 influencers and cultural leaders participated in #WearOrange
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Julianne Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jimmy Kimmel, Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Morales, Jason George, Amy Schumer, Courtney B. Vance, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Shawn Mendes, Michael Franti, Bon Iver, Pearl Jam, The Lumineers, Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber are among those who participated in #WearOrange.
More than 300 landmarks, buildings, and billboards turned orange
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The Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, Washington National Cathedral, Aloha Tower, Skydance Bridge, Lamar Advertising digital billboards, and over 20 stadiums and arenas turned orange.
More than 90 professional sports teams participated
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Wear Orange partnered with the professional sports community in a big way this year, including support from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Union, Miami Marlins, Miami Dolphins, Phoenix Mercury, Washington Mystics, Washington Nationals, Washington Commanders, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Sky, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Texans, Houston Dash, Dallas Wings, Houston Dynamo, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota United, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, Oakland A’s, Portland Thorns, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Connecticut Sun, and the USMNT, along with league-wide, player-led engagement of the entire WNBPA. Dozens of individual athletes also participated in Wear Orange Weekend, including Everytown Athletic Council members, Race Imboden, Natasha Cloud, Devereaux Peters, Stedman Bailey, Delanie Walker, Alejandro Bedoya, Reggie Bullock, Hilary Knight, Aaron Donald, Joakim Noah, and Diontae Spencer.
More than 40 corporate brands supported Wear Orange
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Gucci, Levi Strauss & Co., Northwell Health, Penguin Random House, Yahoo!, Bad Robot, Paramount, MTV Entertainment Studios, Lemonada Studios, Parents, PEOPLE, and POPSUGAR joined the campaign this year.
More than 190 federal lawmakers and at least 430 state level elected officials supported Wear Orange on social media
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Federal lawmakers supported Wear Orange on social media across multiple branches of government, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA-14), Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Mike Thompson (D-CA-05), Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and members of the Cabinet and White House.
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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 both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees official accounts.
More than 110 mayors from around the country participated
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Mayors including Mayor Byron Brown (Buffalo, NY), Mayor Quinton Lucas (Kansas City, MO) Mayor Eric Adams (New York City, NY) and Mayor Regina Romero (Tucson, AZ) issued proclamations declaring June 3 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, lit municipal landmarks orange, posted on social media, and participated in local events.
More than 200 non-profit organizations and faith partners joined in
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Groups like the National Parent Teacher Association, Centering Black Voices Research Lab, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Latino Justice, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Education Association, the National Head Start Association, the National Urban League, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Safe Kids Worldwide, Voto Latino and many more took part in Wear Orange Weekend.
