Hundreds came together in Pine Bluff on Friday for its second annual Go Orange Day, a community-wide event dedicated to raising awareness about gun violence and honoring its victims and survivors.
The Pine Bluff Group Violence Intervention (GVI) initiative, along with numerous community partners, organized the event, which saw a large turnout at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The event aimed to educate and engage youths, teens, young adults and individuals of all ages about the profound impact of gun violence on the community. Orange, symbolizing the color hunters wear for safety, served as a unifying theme, with attendees encouraged to wear it for solidarity and awareness.
“Today’s event, first of all, is amazingly successful, but it is really promoted and supported by Group Violence Intervention in conjunction with the work that they do to stop gun violence in Pine Bluff,” Mayor Vivian Flowers stated. “They have done an amazing job in prevention, but also just in working with families and working with young people who have been purveyors of violence but also victims of it.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Flowers also emphasized the long-term benefits of GVI. “They have developed as a long-term tool instrument and advocate for young people in particular. … The immediate outcomes that we’re seeing within just a few short years are an amazing decline in the numbers, and we are seeing that in the news every day,” she said.
The day featured a range of activities, including games, food and refreshments, interactions with law enforcement, music and resource booths.
“As sheriff of Jefferson County and chairman of the Pine Bluff Group Violence Intervention, I am proud that today’s Go Orange event brings our community together to honor survivors and victims of gun violence while raising critical awareness,” Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. said. “GVI has become a vital part of Pine Bluff’s fabric by shifting our focus from enforcement alone to prevention and deterrence through strong community partnerships.”
Woods stated that the event symbolizes the shared commitment to “safer neighborhoods and demonstrates how collective action wearing orange as a visible pledge can make a meaningful difference in reducing violence and fostering trust between law enforcement and the people we serve.”
Go Orange Day celebrated 513 days without a juvenile homicide in Pine Bluff as the words “Stay Safe, Stay Alive, Stay Free” were emitted loudly over a loudspeaker.
“Today is the second annual Go Orange event. This is something that we saw two years ago when we visited Philadelphia. We wanted to start doing this to celebrate gun violence prevention,” Sixth Division Circuit Judge Earnest Brown said.
“So I just was hoping for half that number, and so we just are thankful. I’m excited today that we are celebrating 513 days without that.”
Brown also noted the positive impact on overall crime rates. “Things people don’t realize, even our adult homicides are down 40%,” he said.
Brown emphasized the importance of continuing to address juvenile violence, mentioning plans for grants focused on anger management and conflict resolution and collaborations with organizations like the Pine Bluff Gloves Not Guns Boxing Club to provide positive outlets for youths.
“We’re working with the boxing club … they’re going to do a demonstration, and we’re working to support them,” Brown said.
GVI program manager Kevin Crumpton also spoke at the event and highlighted the change from 2023.
“In 2023, we had nine juvenile homicides for the month of May and June, and right now, we’re celebrating that we have not had one since January 12th of 2024,” Crumpton said.
Crumpton credited the change to activities implemented within the school districts and the community, emphasizing numerous partnerships including law enforcement, social services and vendors.
“One of the partnerships that we (are) demonstrating today, we had over 62 vendors that are here,” Crumpton said.
In closing, he shared, “Well, I like to say that the most important thing that we always want to let everybody know is to stay safe, stay alive and stay free.”
Go Orange Day is part of the broader Gun Violence Awareness Month, established in 2015 and observed nationally each June. The movement gained traction after the 2013 death of Hadiya Pendleton, whose friends chose to wear orange to commemorate her life.
The event was made possible through the support of various sponsors, including the mayor’s office, Sixth Division Circuit Court, United Family Services, First Ward Living Grace Pantry, NAACP Pine Bluff Branch, Jefferson County sheriff’s office, Pine Bluff Police Department, Super 1 Foods, Simmons Bank, Relyance Bank and numerous local churches and organizations.
