On June 2, the first Saturday in June, there will be a public event in West Side Park, Champaign focusing on gun violence and reforms. It will recognize individuals and communities impacted by gun violence, share our dedication and commitment to each other to take on the work ahead and celebrate and share our collective stories of success in working to reduce gun violence in our country. Together we will organize a day of recognition that shows indisputably that there is a movement of Americans committed to stop gun violence.
This group is still looking for volunteers for the event. Sign up at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d49adad2babfd0-wear.
The color orange has a long and proud history in the gun safety movement. 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. Whether it’s worn by hunters in the woods of Pennsylvania, activists in New York City, or Hadiya’s loved ones in Chicago, orange honors the 96 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence everyday — and demands action. Since the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day in 2015, hundreds of communities and organizations continue to commemorate that event by wearing orange, holding community events, lighting skylines orange, and issuing city and state proclamations. Federal, state and local elected leaders, such as President Obama; celebrities like Julianne Moore, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarah Silverman,Michael J. Fox, and Questlove; brand partners like MTV, Cosmopolitan, the San Francisco Giants and Univision; have joined hundreds of thousands of Americansnationwide to #WearOrange and call for an end to gun violence.
More details on the local event will be coming. You can also sign up for text message alerts here. For more on the national perspective see: https://wearorange.org/.
CUP (Champaign Urbana Progressives) 