Albany activists hold rally, vigil to culminate Wear Orange Gun Violence Awareness Week

ALBANY – To close out National Gun Violence Awareness Week, area citizens gathered at Riverfront Park in downtown Albany Saturday, wearing orange, for a community rally.

Attendees heard from city and county leaders, faith-based leaders as well as family members who have been impacted by gun violence. They participated in a drum circle in a moment of unity and healing. The Wear Orange Week was sponsored by several community groups: Team NIGEL, created by the parents of 9-year-old Nigel Brown who was shot and killed; SOWEGA Rising, a nonprofit to uplift underserved community members; Tracy Taylor, a local firefighter; the Birch Foundation, and more.

Dougherty County Commission Chairman Lorenzo Heard read a proclamation declaring the first Friday of June as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the county. In Georgia, there are almost 2,000 gun deaths each year and a rate of about 18 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the proclamation. This is the fifth-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S.

The names of 120 gunshot victims were read to the crowd. However, less than 50 community members showed up despite the groups’ calls for community support throughout the week. Still, the group created a bright orange spot at Riverfront Park, spreading support to one another and on the importance of showing a united front.

Albany City Commissioner Demetrius Young said during the event that those in attendance were showing up as advocates for such a pressing issue in the community.

“When I look at us in orange in solidarity together … we come together as a community and not only recognize that strength and what we can do as a community to fight this issue, but spread it across the nation,” he said.

Young called on more community members to stand up and speak out to their local, state and national policymakers about the issue of gun violence and the need for more commonsense gun laws.

“We also need to talk to our friends and neighbors and let them know that guns are not the answer to conflict,” he said. “Speak out; be advocates; make sure that your voice is heard on this issue.”

Yolander Brown, the mother of Nigel Brown and founder of Team NIGEL, helped organize the event. She was there with her family, including the two young siblings of Nigel. They drummed together, drew with orange chalk and at the end of the rally held up posters with the faces of victims of gun violence.

“Yolander could have been sitting at home, grieving the loss of her child, but she shows up every year … for this community to make sure that we do not forget not only the memory of Nigel Brown, but making sure that we continue to fight so that no other child has to be subjected to what her child went through,” Sherrell Byrd, SOWEGA Rising’s executive director, said.

Dexter White, a former Albany resident, traveled from Buena Vista to speak about his story as a victim of gun violence at the event.

In March 2023, White’s 14-year-old son, Ardrie, and his ex-wife were shot and killed by her fiance in Richlands, N.C. White wore a shirt with their faces on it over a bright orange shirt.

White’s son was about to start his freshman year of high school. White said he was planning to move to North Carolina to be closer to his son, who wanted to be a doctor and enjoyed playing videogames with his dad. White said he looked for his son’s gamer tag to pop up on his Xbox every day at 2:30 p.m. when his son finished school.

White said the only emotion he could feel was anger over the loss of his son’s life.

“I know I’m not going to see my son anymore,” he said. “I know I’m not going to be able to see him graduate from high school, go to college, get married – none of that stuff because a coward took that from me.”

White said gun violence doesn’t just impact the victim, it impacts both sides of the families involved. The man who shot White’s son will spend his life in prison and away from his young son.

“I’ve had to go through a lot of firsts,” he said. “First summers without my son, first Christmas, New Year, birthday, and guess what … I’m going through my second. As long as I’m alive, I’m going to keep going through it.”

White called gun violence a systematic problem.

“When we say that we need gun control, we’re not saying that we’re taking people’s rights away but we’re saying we’re taking the guns from people who don’t deserve to have them,” he said.

After the bulk of the rally, Michael Harper from Our Ancestral Voices LLC led the attendees in the drum circle.

Children and adults sat in a circle and drummed for about 30 minutes. Harper guided them through different paces and patterns with his arms. Harper said he wasn’t looking for people who knew how to drum but simply people with a heart beat.

“Through that drum circle, we’re going to talk about peace,” he said. “Peace is a power. It’s about identifying your inner peace and using that power to separate yourself outside of a violent interaction.”

The group closed out the night by watching a short documentary on gun violence on a large, inflated screen in the park.