FAYETTEVILLE -- A sea of orange T-shirts flooded the Walker-Stone House in Fayetteville on Saturday afternoon as about 70 community members gathered to honor the lives of Americans killed by gun violence.
"We are here to honor the lives cut short by gun violence as well as survivors and to come together as a community and elevate the voices of everyone demanding change, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by gun violence, such as people of color and the LGBTQ community," said Catherine Snyder, Fayetteville group lead for Moms Demand Action, which put on the event.
Wear Orange is a national campaign and a coalition of more than 500 nonprofit groups, cultural influencers and elected officials working to reduce gun violence in America, according to its website.
It began in 2013 with a small group of teens in Chicago who asked classmates to honor the life of their murdered friend Hadiya Pendleton.
Pendleton was shot in the back and killed while standing with friends inside Harsh Park in Kenwood, Chicago in January 2013 -- one week after performing at events for President Barack Obama's second inauguration.
A smaller group of Moms Demand Action members met Saturday morning at Philips Park pavilion in Bentonville amid the crowds attending baseball games.
The Benton County-based group is smaller, having launched in February, group leader Stephannie Baker said, but she is excited to see people getting involved.
"Events just like this one are happening in thousands of communities across America," Baker said. "It's about raising our voices and raising awareness. Wear Orange is nonpartisan. We support the Second Amendment. We want to find common ground and find a solution to move forward together."
Baker said the events are about all the children that have been killed in gun violence.
"There was extension covered of Pendleton's death because of her performance, but there were so many other incidences of gun violence that have barely made local news. Her family and friends knew they needed to elevate the voices of everyone that lives with the threat of gun violence every day," she said.
Baker explained the color orange was chosen because it is what hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others and a color that reflects the value of human life.
"It literally means don't shoot me," she said. "It's a bright color that cannot be ignored. We wear orange because we demand to be seen, and we demand change."
Don Morrow is the pastor of First Christian Church & WaterWay in Bentonville. He said the color reminded him of his days in construction.
"All of us and all faiths long for seeing the world become a peaceful place," Morrow said. "I hope and pray this continues to be a powerful movement, and it's a construction project. We've got to build something better than what we are currently experiencing. Construction takes time. It takes commitment. It takes a plan. It takes people keeping showing up."
NW News on 06/03/2018