City of Rochester
News Release
(Friday, June 2, 2023) – Mayor Malik D. Evans and County Executive Adam Bello proclaimed today through Sunday as Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend in Rochester and Monroe County, joining a national movement to associate gun violence with the color hunters wear to protect human life.
City and County leaders joined dozens of orange-clad members of the Rochester Peace Collective and the Roc Against Gun Violence Coalition Friday to read the joint proclamation and announce activities taking place throughout the month of June to enhance community collaboration in the fight against gun violence.
“The City of Rochester and County of Monroe are committed to ending gun violence with the support of law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels; and a host of community partners, including the ROC Against Gun Violence Coalition and the Rochester Peace Collective,” the Mayor and County Executive stated in the joint City-County Proclamation. “We call on the people of Rochester and Monroe County to Wear Orange and come together as one community to heal, offer comfort and support, and join the movement to make gun violence a thing of the past.”
The wear-orange movement was initially conceived by the classmates of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendelton of Chicago, who was shot and killed on a school playground one week after marching in President Barack Obama’s inauguration parade.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a national grass-roots advocacy agency with a chapter in Monroe County has since played a leading role to promote the message across the country. Hadiya would have been 26 today. Now, Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend takes place on the first Friday and weekend of June.
Members of the ROC Against Gun Violence Coalition and the Rochester Peace Collective are hosting a series of events throughout the month of June.
They include:
• Cameron Community 9th Annual Peace Walk: Friday, June 2 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Meet at the Cameron Teen Center, 48 Cameron St.
• Center for Youth Fashion Week: Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m., City of Rochester Public Market, 280 N. Union St.
• In-Person Faith Leaders Summit on Gun Violence: Tuesday, June 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Pathways to Peace BBQs: Friday, June 16, 5 to 8 p.m., corner of Jefferson Avenue and Iceland Park; Friday June 30, 5 to 8 p.m., corner of Joseph Avenue and Wilkins Terrace.
• Hope Initiatives Workforce Trainee: Friday, June 23, 9 to 5 p.m., 506 W. Broad St.
The ROC Against Gun Violence Coalition seeks to end gun violence in Rochester by bringing attention to the causes and effects of gun violence and promoting quality of life in Rochester's neighborhoods. The Coalition is made up of community partners and stakeholders who are already working to end gun violence using three unified tools: to educate, advocate and eradicate.
The Rochester Peace Collective guides investments in innovative and proven programs that work to prevent violent crime by collaborating with community-based organizations and agencies working in the fields of re-entry and violence prevention.
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News Media: For more information, contact Communications Director Barbara Pierce at Barbara.Pierce@cityofrochester.gov.