Join the March for Our Lives, Youth Led Organization to End Gun Violence

In the wake of the devastating high school shooting earlier this month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, our youth have taken to the streets and the podium to demand change. Five of the survivors – students of the school – have announced plans for a nationwide school walkout, with another demonstration in the streets of DC, demanding that lawmakers produce legislation for gun control, that politicians stop taking money from the NRA, and to unseat any that do. Put together by March for Our Lives – an organization “created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action” – the protest will take place on March 24th and you are invited to partake (sign up here to get info on your local happenings.) “People keep asking us, ‘What about the Stoneman Douglas shooting is going to be different, because this has happened before and change hasn’t come?’” 11th grader Cameron Kasky told Raddatz. “This is it.”     At an anti-gun rally in Florida, one of the March for Our Lives organizers took to the podium and wiped tears from her eyes. Emma Gonzalez, who is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, spoke with such eloquence and deep wisdom that the whole nation became transfixed. A video of her speaking went viral. “They say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun — we call B.S.! (…) That us kids don’t know what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works — we call B.S.!” said Gonzalez. “Everybody needs to understand how we feel and what we went through because if they don’t, they’re not going to be able to understand why we’re fighting for what we’re fighting for.” Under the hashtag #neveragain, students and young adults are making their voices heard. Search for it on Twitter and get inspired. Then mark your calendars for March 24th. Here are more stories about young folks who shaped history by never faltering in their convictions.

Feature photo: Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images