By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published May 19, 2026
GROSSE POINTES — Many residents in the community are encouraging their friends and neighbors to wear orange as they advocate for greater awareness of gun violence.
Wear Orange Weekend — which coincides with National Gun Violence Awareness Day on the first Friday in June — is June 5-7.
Flowers and Fun, a Wear Orange kickoff event, will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. May 28 at Otherworld Nursery & Mums Arcade, 17750 Mack Ave. in Grosse Pointe City. The free, all-orange event will feature a children’s potting station, orange snacks and beverages, arcade games and more, and there will be orange flowers available for purchase.
A free screening and discussion of the Oscar-winning short documentary, “All the Empty Rooms” — about the impact of school shootings — will be held at 6:30 p.m. June 4 at Grosse Pointe Congregational Church, 240 Chalfonte Ave. in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Grosse Pointe North High School in Grosse Pointe Woods will hold a rally to raise awareness about the toll taken on students and families by gun violence at 7:25 a.m. June 5 outside the school.
Organizers encourage residents to wear something orange to a silent vigil at 4 p.m. June 5 outside Grosse Pointe Woods City Hall, 20025 Mack Plaza; many will carry signs stating why they’re wearing orange or who they’re wearing it for.
This is an issue that hits close to home for many in the community. In February 2023, the Grosse Pointe Public School System lost two of its own to a mass shooting on the Michigan State University campus that claimed the lives of North graduate Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods, and Grosse Pointe South High School graduate Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe Park.
Some Wear Orange supporters were unhappy with Grosse Pointe City for not being willing to vote on a National Gun Violence Awareness Day resolution, as many neighboring communities have done.
At an April 20 Grosse Pointe City Council meeting, City resident Kelly Larson said her family has been touched personally by this issue — one of her daughters was a classmate of Brian Fraser, while another daughter had a friend whose father — a City resident — died by suicide using a gun.
“I think these little steps can help,” Larson said of Wear Orange efforts. “We’re acknowledging this is happening and it shouldn’t be happening.”
Mary Fraser, of Grosse Pointe Park — the mother of Brian Fraser — has become a passionate advocate for gun violence awareness in the wake of her son’s death. She said other cities — including Grosse Pointe Woods, Harper Woods, Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Shores — have all recognized National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
“I don’t know why Grosse Pointe City doesn’t think it’s an issue,” said Fraser, who said that her son grew up one block away from the city in Grosse Pointe Park.
“Brian loved the City,” Fraser said. “He loved all of the Grosse Pointe communities.”
A fundraiser in Brian Fraser’s name enabled several Pointes — including the City — to purchase 120 trees.
“I think if we work together, we can make change. … It’s not going to bring Brian back … but it may save your child’s life,” Fraser told the council.
City officials said the reason they aren’t approving a proclamation or resolution is because they have a policy against approving these unless it’s directly connected to the city, such as recognizing a retiring administrator or former council member.
After the meeting, Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak said the City is “working daily to eliminate gun violence” by collecting guns and offering free gun locks at the Public Safety Department, among other measures. She said they’re willing to put orange ribbons on public safety vehicles and orange lights on the public safety building the first weekend in June, but they can’t vote on a resolution because “we have a cause-neutral policy.”
Grosse Pointe City Public Safety Director John Alcorn said he supports the cause and said the mayor and the city “support this in many actionable ways,” including that the City started the Crisis Intervention Team in the Pointes, which provides public safety officers with additional training to deal with cases involving mental illness and the like.
Several council members voiced their support for the cause.
“I desperately understand your concern,” City Councilman Terence Thomas said. “I’m a survivor of gun violence.”
Thomas said he was shot in the hand when he was 5; his hand was next to his head at the time.
At a May 18 Grosse Pointe City Council meeting, residents again voiced support for recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
“It would be nice if we had a unified approach to this whole situation,” City resident Marcia Hartman said. “It’s a small step, but small steps make change.”
Grosse Pointe Park resident Michelle White, who leads the Wear Orange campaign in the Pointes, urged the City to do something visible as a show of support.
City Councilman Seth Krupp is a doctor.
“I work in the emergency department, so I see a lot of the effects of gun violence,” Krupp said at the May 18 meeting. “I couldn’t agree more that we need more awareness.”
Tomkowiak said May 18 when she was in Lansing recently, she talked to state senators as she lobbied for legislation to improve gun safety, including outlawing bump stocks.
“I am working very hard on meaningful (measures) to stop this,” Tomkowiak said of gun violence.
During an April 21 Grosse Pointe Shores City Council meeting, local Wear Orange leaders thanked Shores officials for their support last year and said they hoped that would continue this year.
“Last year, you observed Wear Orange in a very visible and powerful way,” said White, who said that the city had orange ribbons on its trees, lit City Hall in orange and approved a proclamation acknowledging Wear Orange. “We cannot thank you enough for doing that. … This movement really relies on visibility.”
Fraser thanked Shores officials as well, saying that lighting City Hall in orange “really meant a lot” and drew attention to this issue.
Last year, Fraser said, Henry Ford St. John Hospital lit its tower in orange and had orange ribbons tied on trees. The hospital has a Level 1 Trauma Center.
“We’re all in this together,” Fraser said. “Hopefully my grandchildren or my friends’ grandchildren are going to have a better future. … We can make a difference if we band together.”
Some council members voiced support for the anti-gun-violence movement, having professionally witnessed the toll shootings take on victims, survivors and those who love them.
City Councilman Donn Schroder said he was a trauma surgeon for 35 years and recalls seeing three to four gunshot victims a night.
“It’s such a gruesome tragedy. … It really is a horrible thing, and we’d like to see this end,” Schroeder said.
City Councilman John Dakmak — who chaired the meeting as mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Ted Kedzierski — said as a former prosecutor in Wayne County, he saw “the devastating impact” gun violence can have. Dakmak told organizers their work in “bringing to light what happens” was important.
At press time, the city councils of Grosse Pointes Farms and Park had approved National Gun Violence Awareness Day resolutions as part of their consent agendas. Grosse Pointe Woods hadn’t voted on this issue at press time but did have another meeting — June 1 — before National Gun Violence Awareness Day. An agenda for the June 1 Woods City Council hadn’t been prepared before press time.