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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. Her friends asked us to stand up and speak out, and they inspired a movement. Wear Orange originated on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday. Now, it is observed nationally on the first Friday in June and the following weekend each year. This year, Wear Orange Weekend will be June 4-6.
In our communities, gun violence is pervasive, long lasting, and impacts everyone uniquely. Wear Orange is an opportunity to demonstrate our collective power as members of the gun violence prevention movement, bringing together thousands of Americans who believe that we can end gun violence.
The Washington Mystics, the National Building Museum, and Everytown for Gun Safety are proud to come together to kick off the 7th annual Wear Orange. Click here to learn more and watch a special video featuring Natasha Cloud, the family of Hadiya Pendleton, Shannon Watts (Founder, Moms Demand Action), Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA), John Feinblatt (President, Everytown for Gun Safety), and Jha D. Williams (Senior Associate, MASS Design).
In partnership with Everytown, the Mystics will host a special Wear Orange game Sat. June 5 at 1 p.m. when the team takes the court against the Las Vegas Aces on ABC. We will join the country in honoring survivors of gun violence and recommit ourselves to the work it takes so we can get closer to realizing a gun violence free future. Click here for game tickets.
Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America. For too long, life-saving laws have been thwarted by the gun lobby and by leaders who refuse to take common-sense steps that will save lives. But something is changing. More than six million mayors, moms, teachers, survivors, gun owners, students, and everyday Americans have come together to make their own communities safer. Everytown starts with you, and it starts in your neighborhood. By introducing evidence-based solutions in every town, we can end gun violence.
Everytown’s approach centers around educating voters, electing the right candidates, demanding action from these elected officials, and changing how America thinks about gun laws. See below for some immediate actions you can to take to get involved in the movement.
Gun Violence Memorial Project at the National Building Museum
Mystics fans are invited to visit the Gun Violence Memorial Project now on exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Presented in conjunction with Justice is Beauty: The Work of MASS Design Group, the Gun Violence Memorial Project is a tribute to the thousands of lives lost to gun violence in America.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Learn more about the Gun Violence Memorial Project in the video Why We Wear Orange, or visit The National Building Museum’s website.
Go Orange With the Mystics on Sat. June 5
Join us at ESA to participate in the following:
- See the debut of the Mystics “RISE” Nike Rebel edition uniform. Read more about the “RISE” story and how it seeks to echo the historic moments for gender, racial, and LGBTQ+ equality voiced throughout our nation’s capital.
- Mystics staff and players will be supporting Wear Orange Weekend and will wear special W Wears Orange t-shirts to support the movement.
- Show your solidarity and wear orange to the game. Click here to purchase the same shirt that players and staff will be wearing. Proceeds support Everytown.
- Throughout the game, learn important facts and figures on the impact of gun violence on our community.
- Find out how you can make a difference in the gun safety movement with meaningful calls to action that can support efforts in the DMV.
- Watch a special showing of the animated short Blossom at halftime.
DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement
The Pathways Program is a transitional employment program that aims to decrease participants’ involvement in the criminal justice system and improve their employment, education and training outcomes for individuals who have been identified as being at risk of participating in, and/or being victims of violent crime.
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
The DC Hospital Based Violence Intervention Program provides services to individuals, and their families, who have experienced a life-threatening intentional injury. The DC HVIP partners engage with victims and their families while they are in the hospital recovering to create a support system that can lead to long-term change.
DC Metropolitan Police Department
The Metropolitan Police Department is the agency responsible for transferring and registering firearms in the District of Columbia. The Firearms Safety Training Program will provide information needed to comply with the District’s laws regarding proper transfer, registration, and safekeeping of a weapon.
Alliance of Concerned Men
ACM aims to save lives of at-risk youth residing in high crime areas in Metro Washington DC by promoting fatherhood; strengthening families; and improving the quality of life of those who are incarcerated.
Cure the Streets
Cure the Streets (CTS) is a public safety pilot program working to reduce violence in the District by using a data-driven, public-health approach to treat violence as a disease that can be interrupted, treated, and stopped from spreading in some of the highest rates of gun violence in Wards 5, 7 and 8.
Training Grounds, Inc.
TGI aims to assist youth and adults with personal, career and leadership development through various trainings, programs and collaborations by preparing economically disadvantaged individuals for living wage careers and self-sufficiency to empower high poverty, high crime and socioeconomically challenged communities.
The TraRon Center
The TraRon Center exposes gun violence survivors to therapeutic modalities that may be absent from their current grieving and coping methods by equipping survivors with strategies to healthfully endure the complexities of loss- while promoting community health and solidarity.