The color orange is often associated with enthusiasm, adventure, and creativity.
On Saturday afternoon in Vallejo's Richardson Park, however, it represented the fight against gun violence.
A few dozen people and several organizations donned the color at the venue, looking to spread awareness of the gun violence that has plagued the nation for decades — particularly the last 25 years. Events like these took place throughout the nation as part of National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend.
On Jan. 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton marched in President Obama's second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago.
Soon after the tragedy, Hadiya's friends commemorated her life by wearing orange — the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. A decade down the road, Wear Orange is observed every June, with thousands wearing the color to honor Hadiya and the more than 43,000 Americans killed with guns and approximately 76,000 more shot and wounded every year.
Keycha Gallon came out to Vallejo for the 10-year anniversary after previously holding events in Richmond. She started helping out in 2020 and lives in Vallejo, while working as a volunteer leader for Richmond and Vallejo. She was joined by organizations Boys & Girls Empowerment Group, Saving Lives Ronnie "Bubba Robinson" Scholarship Foundation, 1 Hundred Years, Motivated 2 Help Others, Broken By Violence, Center for Urban Excellence and Vallejo First Chance.
"When the pandemic hit, gun violence rose 29 percent in Vallejo," Gallon said. "We were already fighting for our lives and now we were fighting for our lives all around. I thought it would be good to bring all these organizations together. Every organization was impacted by gun violence somehow. The last few years during the pandemic I lost a brother, a nephew, several cousins and an uncle. So this is bringing the community together and trying to find a way to heal.
"We want to make people aware of gun violence and that it needs to stop. We're not anti-guns but we are anti-gun violence," Gallon said. "We need stricter gun laws. We need more background checks, more mental checks. Nobody should have a gun without doing a mental check."
The reality of gun violence hit home for Gallon when her mom became sick after the death of Keycha's brother.
"When I lost my brother I kind of lost my mother," Gallon said. "My mom was a strong woman and that broke her. She doesn't know how to rebound from his death. We don't know how to tell people how to grieve, when to grieve or how long they should grieve. I just don't want any families to go through what my family went through."
Lejoon Fahim Reese, a founding member of 1 Hundred Years and Motivated 2 Help Others, was incarcerated for 30 years.
"We want to let people know that everyone impacted by gun violence that they are not alone," Reese said. "Many of us go through hard times and our tears and our cries have been heard ... This is about bringing groups together in urban areas and saying, 'We support you.'"
Reese said a big factor in ending gun violence is outreach, especially with the youth.
"We have to understand what the youth is going through," Reese said. "What are they dealing with? We can't expect them to come to us. We have to go to the youth and ask them and understand what they are going through. Ask them questions — why is it necessary to pick up a gun instead of a book? Why is it necessary to cut school instead of staying in school? Why is it necessary to think love is outside of home rather than inside the home?"
Gallon said seeing a lot of people come to the BBQ event to raise awareness was "bittersweet."
"I'm happy because we're out here trying to heal, but unhappy because of what got us out here in the first place," Gallon said. "Our organizations are small but we do a lot in the community."
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