Thursday marks National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and the second annual Wear Orange Party for Peace will return to Chicago’s Harold Washington Playlot Park to honor those affected by gun violence and bring attention to prevention efforts. The event will also feature free performances from Windy City artists Malik Yusef, a five-time Grammy winner, and rising rapper Noname (formerly Noname Gypsy).
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Yusef has been noted as Kanye West‘s mentor and recently for his collaboration on Beyonce‘s Lemonade, while Noname has gained wide recognition for her appearances on Chance the Rapper‘s mixtapes, including “Finish Line / Drown” from his new project Coloring Book.
Hosted by the Wear Orange Campaign, the block party and family event will also feature poet and activist Malcolm London as emcee. He will be joined by Cecilia Rodhe, founder of Noah’s Arc Foundation and mother of Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah, and Nate and Cleo Pendleton, who lost their daughter Hadiya to gun violence. Hadiya’s high school friends went on to inspire Wear Orange, and June 2 would have been her 19th birthday.
Wear Orange Party for Peace will kick off Thursday at 4 p.m.