When the architects of a nationwide anti-gun violence campaign deliver some 720,000 postcards to Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning urging universal background checks for gun buyers, it will mark the culmination of a monthslong effort that brought colorful murals near two prominent DC intersections with a straightforward call to action: #EndGunViolenceTogether.
It’s an issue with national and local dimensions. In 2018, the District experienced a rise in the number of homicides as well as in the proportion of shootings that turned deadly. With numbers climbing again so far this year, city officials are promising a dual approach that targets illegal guns and expands violence prevention programs and social services.
Meanwhile, the national campaign organized by the California-based shoe company TOMS hopes to make a strong statement in DC with a kickoff event tonight at Union Market and a rally tomorrow that starts at a Capitol Hill hotel. Among the local groups planning to participate is the George Washington University chapter of March for Our Lives.
Organizers of the End Gun Violence Together campaign set the stage in December with completion of a new street art mural in Brentwood at 1311 Rhode Island Ave. NE. On Dec. 17, community members — including the father of one of the District’s 160 homicide victims in 2018, who had been killed nearby — helped artists complete the graffiti project, one of 40 across the country funded by TOMS in conjunction with its anti-violence campaign. TOMS, a socially conscious company that donates a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair that is purchased, has spent about $5 million on the End Gun Violence Together initiative.
Roger Marmet, the owner of the Adams Morgan restaurant Roofers Union, said he felt he needed to participate to help raise awareness of the “steady beat of gun violence” in the District. Just two months earlier, he had lost his 22-year-old son Roger “Tom” Marmet, a social worker who was driving home from work at the nonprofit So Others Might Eat on Oct. 24 when he was hit by a stray bullet just off Bladensburg Road NE. In late December, police announced that Barry Marable, a 22-year-old from Northeast, had been arrested in connection with the shooting and charged with first-degree murder.
To honor his son, Roger Marmet joined about 30 people at the corner of a large parking lot where MidCity’s new 20-acre RIA development project is slated to include housing as well as a town center with retailers, restaurants and public green spaces.
The night before, longtime DC artist Jason Bowers teamed up with California’s Jon Leonardo and DC newcomer Jay Hill to create outlines of hands so those in attendance could finish the mural the next day. The mural — strategically placed so it is visible from a major road — features the message “#EndGunViolenceTogether” in large white letters, with colorful hands making peace signs in the background.
As volunteers finished the mural, Marmet stressed that “we gotta own the whole city,” meaning that officials and residents alike need to take responsibility for areas that are struggling as well as those that are thriving. Marmet and his wife especially want to help those affected by gun violence who have fewer resources to cope with the psychological impact of the trauma through measures such as grief counseling.
His restaurant donated all of its profits from Thanksgiving weekend to Everytown for Gun Safety. The anti-gun violence organization works to build safer communities and supports survivors through its Everytown Survivors Network, which provides trauma-informed programming, self-care tips and referrals to mental health care resources. Roofers Union also memorialized DC’s 2018 homicide victims by placing their names and faces on the wall of the bar, and by lining a table with candles to represent each life that was vanquished.
Leonardo, the lead artist for the DC part of the campaign, said he participated as a way to “use our medium to make a change,” including universal background checks for gun buyers — a key aspect of the TOMS anti-gun violence campaign. The TOMS website cites that 90 percent of Americans want universal background checks, a claim supported by the PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking nonprofit.
As part of the TOMS campaign, Leonardo also created a mural near the bustling 14th and U streets NW — a corner with its own history of violence, as the epicenter of the 1968 riots and later in close proximity to open-air drug markets. He finished the mural there before shifting to the Rhode Island Avenue project, which he described as more fulfilling since a crowd of people joined him in the work.
The volunteers there included Ward 5 DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie, who spray-painted a peace sign on the wall prior to the noon ceremony and showed his support for the movement on social media.
Madi Ford, vice president and general counsel at MidCity, is mindful of what she called the “tragic number of people killed by gun violence in this area.” She said she hopes that RIA and MidCity’s partnership with Leonardo and TOMS has a part in changing the community for the better.
“We are honored to have been able to help take part in this crucial initiative,” the company wrote in a post on its website.
Jamie Weinbaum, MidCity’s executive vice president, noted that the company makes the outdoor space with the mural available for free use by community groups holding public events, spreading the message to #EndGunViolenceTogether widely.
“We remain really excited about the partnership with TOMS,” Weinbaum said. “It is about making sure the community is healthy and safe.”
TOMS invited the public to participate in its #EndGunViolenceTogether campaign by sending a postcard to their members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging passage of universal background checks. After the rally on Tuesday at The Liaison Capitol Hill, those in attendance will meet with members of Congress to deliver the 720,000 postcards that were submitted. On Monday night, a kickoff event from 7 to 9 p.m. at Union Market’s Dock 5, 1309 5th St. NE, will feature notable figures including Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Mayor Muriel Bowser, youth activist Naomi Wadler, actor Taye Diggs and TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie. The event will include musical performances from Vic Mensa and MILCK as well as live art from Change the Ref’s Manual Oliver. Both events are free to attend, but reservations are requested due to space limitations.
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