On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton  (age 15) 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). This year, Wear Orange will take place from June 2-4, 2023.

Orange has become the defining color of the gun violence prevention movement. New York gun violence prevention advocate Erica Ford spearheaded orange as the color of peace through her work with her organization, Life Camp, Inc. Whether it’s worn by students in Montana, activists in New York, or Hadiya’s loved ones in Chicago, the color orange honors the more than 120 lives cut short and the hundreds more wounded by gun violence every day.

Our movement gains momentum when people come together to fight for a future free from gun violence. In 2022, more than 1,500 partner organizations, influencers, corporate brands, elected officials, and landmarks joined hundreds of thousands of Americans to unite around a call to end gun violence. As Wear Orange pushes on into its ninth year, we hope you will join us by attending Wear Orange events, posting on social media, and much more! Learn more about all the ways you can participate in Wear Orange.