Today, the Board of Commissioners will join Mayor Victor Carstarphen, New Jersey Moms Demand Action and other community partners to honor National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend with a resource fair and concert performance by Tank and the Bangas. Gun Violence Awareness Day falls on the first Friday of June each year and Wear Orange Weekend is honored throughout the weekend.
Wear Orange weekend began in 2013 after 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago. After her death, her friends and family wore orange – the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others – in her honor. In the years since, Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend have grown into national movements to honor the countless lives lost and impacted by gun violence in America.
“In 2025 alone, 14,651 people in the United States lost their lives to guns, and another 26,237 were injured. Every one of these numbers represents a person, a family, a community who has been changed forever,” said Commissioner Louis Cappelli Jr. “Gun violence is preventable, and the Board of Commissioners is proud to stand with Moms Demand Action to create the safer future that we know is possible through raising awareness and advocating for common sense gun laws at a national level.”
Following speaking program and resource fair, Tank and the Bangas will take the stage for a concert as part of the Sunset Jazz Series at 8 p.m. Tank and the Bangas, a Grammy award-winning musical group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana is celebrated for its high-energy, style that blends R&B, funk, hip-hop, spoken word, and soul.