Posted 11:40 pm Monday, October 29, 2012
Send to Kindle
The history of red ribbon week
The Red Ribbon Campaign was born out of the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique (Kiki) Camarena.
Camarena was working undercover in Mexico on assignment investigating a drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government, according to the National Family Partnership website.
On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at his side and forced him into a car, according to the website. One month later, his body was found.
Friends, family and others in his hometown of Calexico, Calif., started wearing red ribbons in his memory, according to the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation website.
Congressman Duncan Hunter and high school teacher David Dhillon started "Camarena Clubs" in California high schools, according to the foundation's website.
Club members committed to lead lives free from drug abuse to recognize the sacrifices made by Camarena and others, according to the website.
Some parents started forming coalitions to stand against the destruction caused by drugs, according to the National Family Partnership website.
These organizations adopted the red ribbon as their symbol, too.
In 1988, the National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign.
Today, the campaign serves as a means to move communities to action in educating youth and encouraging participation in drug prevention activities, according to a campaign website.
