McLean County Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense held its sixth annual “Wear Orange” event Saturday at a new location that the organization hopes will bring more attention to its activities from the African American community.
The event was held at Western Avenue Community Center on Bloomington's west side, which will become the new, permanent location for future "Wear Orange" events. Previously, the event was held at Anderson Park in Normal.
According to the nonprofit organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to experience gun homicides.
Donna Walley, Moms Demand Action community outreach and volunteer coordination lead, said the goal of “Wear Orange” is multifaceted.
“(The goal is) to bring more awareness to the fact that gun violence has become a public health crisis," she said. "We want to remember the victims. We want to amplify the voice of the survivors. And of course, we want to showcase our community partners and then show a united front that together, we can end gun violence. We just have to work together at it.”
The idea of gun violence being a public health crisis was echoed by Bloomington City Council member Mollie Ward, who represents Ward 7. One of the speakers at the event, Ward said gun violence and COVID-19 have something in common: they’re both pandemics. Much like the coronavirus, Ward said working together will help change things for the better.
“We survived COVID because we didn’t just rely on one group — on doctors, on nurses — to fix it. Everyone played a part,” said Ward. “In the same way, we can’t just dump the issue of gun violence onto a single group and expect them to come up with a single solution that will address what is a profoundly complex problem. It’s going to take a diversity of viewpoints to make a difference. We can end gun violence.”
She encouraged those in attendance to be more vocal, urging them to sign up for public comment at council meetings, and calling elected officials and civil servants to voice their thoughts and concerns about gun violence.
Moms Demand Action, as well as friends and family, has made a difference in the life of Talaina Matthews. She’s the mother of Kiejoun Watts, her 20-year-old son who was found shot to death outside Victory Church in Bloomington in February.
Matthews, speaking to the crowd of people donning orange shirts, said the support of Moms Demand Action and others motivates her to keep moving forward.
“One thing that I could do is I could lay down every day and I could cry, or I could get up and keep going,” said Matthews. “I can live for Kiejoun because he doesn’t have a voice.”
She, and others, didn’t have a choice in becoming a survivor of gun violence, she said.
Neither did Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington. He’s lost his father, step-brother, a cousin and friends to gun violence during his life.
Simington’s message was all about “zero.”
“We want to see a zero number. We want to see zero suicides as a result of a gun. We want to see zero street violence and zero gun victims in this community. That is what we’re striving for,” said Simington.
He noted the Bloomington Police Department’s plan to distribute gun safes to the community on June 10. Those interested in receiving one must be a Bloomington resident and have a valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.
Simington agreed it will take the efforts of the entire Bloomington-Normal community, not just the actions of individuals, to prevent further gun violence.
Community was at the heart of the “Wear Orange” event.
It was free and kid-friendly, with games, coloring, refreshments and a live DJ. Numerous community partners had tables to check out as well. The Survivor Art Project had a table where people could paint squares honoring victims of gun violence. A mural of the combined artwork will later be installed at Western Avenue.
After the speeches, there was a walk of remembrance for those lost to gun violence.
