Gun violence has become an issue so large and complex with proposed solutions so varied that it’s easy to lose sight of its actual, residual effects on everyday American lives. This is particularly true in Chicago, which is on pace to have one of its most violent years in decades, and which has become either a symbol of what happens when you enact overly strict gun-control laws or turn a blind eye to the root causes of gun violence, depending on your point of view. The more the arguments are recycled, the more difficult it becomes to remember that the stakes of the debate are very real, and that a solution isn’t about scoring points but about saving lives and restoring quality of life for neighborhoods across the country.
It’s a point that’s eloquently made by Natalie Morales and Andrew Bird in a new collaborative video project meant to raise awareness for the work of Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun violence–prevention organization. The video, which is scored by Bird’s “Pulaski at Night,” follows a young student in Chicago as he goes about his day worrying about the kinds of things kids usually have to worry about—studying flash cards, understanding the intricacies of photosynthesis, remembering to pay attention in class—when his day is interrupted by a lockdown drill. Such drills are routine in schools, but the simple sweetness of the rest of the clip underscores the tragedy of that necessity; kids shouldn’t have to worry about an active shooter roaming the area around their elementary school, and they also shouldn’t become desensitized to the same.
“The rhetoric around gun violence has gotten so reactionary that it seems no one is talking sense,” Bird said in a press release. “It’s not only the shameful body count in this country but the psychic toll that gun violence is taking on our citizens, especially young people.”
“Directing this video, working with Andrew, and collaborating with Everytown has been deeply rewarding,” Morales added. “I hope we can continue to elevate the conversation about senseless deaths resulting from gun violence and, as a community, find solutions to make our country and children’s lives safer.”
In addition to donating $1 from every ticket sold on his current US tour to Everytown, Bird is selling a special orange t-shirt as part of the Wear Orange campaign. Chicago teens began wearing hunter’s orange as a way of memorializing those killed by guns.
For more information on Everytown for Gun Safety, click here, and check out the video below. Andrew Bird’s upcoming tour dates are below, too.
Andrew Bird tour dates
9/9 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheatre ^
9/10 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Fest
9/12 – Athens, GA @ The Georgia Theatre ^
9/13 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel ^
9/14 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater ^
9/16 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Murat Theatre ^
9/17 – Shakopee, MN @ Festivl Palomino
9/28 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theater
9/29 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/1 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/3 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre &
10/4 – Birmingham, AL @ The Saturn &
10/6 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/8 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theatre &
10/9 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live &
10/10 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground &
10/11 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre &
10/13 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre &
10/14 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall &
10/15 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre &
10/24 – Paris, FR @ Théatre des Bouffes du Nord
10/28 – Milan, IT @ Teatro Dal Verme
10/30 – Rome, IT @ Auditorium Parco della Musica
11/1 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Nuevo Apolo
11/4 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Barts
11/8 – Porto, PT @ Casa da Musica
11/9 – Lisbon, PT @ Centro Cultural de Belém
12/12 – New York, NY @ Carnegie Hall
^ = w/ Gabriel Kahane
# = w/ Margo Price
& = w/ Sinkane
