John–
Nine years ago—and less than a week after performing at President Obama's second inauguration—our 15-year-old daughter Hadiya was shot and killed. Her death left us devastated.
To honor her life and raise awareness about gun violence in our community, Hadiya's friends launched Project Orange Tree. They asked all of us to wear orange to honor Hadiya and the hundreds of people in the United States killed and wounded by gun violence every day. They chose orange because hunters wear the color to warn other hunters not to shoot—it's the color of safety that signals a need to protect each other.
June 2, 2015 would have been Hadiya's 18th birthday. Instead, it was the very first National Gun Violence Awareness Day. We now commemorate it on the first Friday of every June as the start of Wear Orange Weekend.
Today would have been Hadiya's 25th birthday. It should have been a day of celebration for us, for so many others, but most of all, for her.
Join us June 3-5 in honoring Hadiya and so many more people affected by gun violence. #WearOrange and demand action from our lawmakers.
Everyone in this country deserves a future free from gun violence. And right now, the need for us to demand action has never been more urgent. Gun violence increased when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and it continues to devastate our communities. 2021 was one of the deadliest years on record for the U.S., with an estimated 20,700 people shot and killed in gun homicides—a 6 percent increase from 2020.
As we commemorate the 8th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend, please join our family in demanding an end to this crisis. Wear orange June 3-5 and demand action from our lawmakers.
Thank you for wearing orange and for being a part of this movement.
Nate and Cleopatra Pendleton
Parents of Hadiya Pendleton and co-founders of Hadiya's Foundation, a 501c3 organization
P.S. If you are a survivor of gun violence or have a loved one who has been wounded or killed by gun violence, you can share your story on Moments That Survive with the stories of other survivors of gun violence. Please read our Moments That Survive story about Hadiya.
