The March for Our Lives protest was this weekend. For those who don’t know it was a rally in almost all major cities to demand action for gun violence. Men, Women, kids of all ages, but most importantly, school shooting survivors joined in on the peaceful protest. Across the country people of all races, genders, political affiliation, and sexual orientation came together to call for action from our nation’s politicians. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of the United States to bring attention to this cause.
The main rally was held in Washington, D.C. Survivors of multiple gun violence scenarios came to show support and to rally those who stand for the cause. Edna Chavez, a young woman whose brother was taken from her in a shooting outside of her home in Los Angeles said, “Welcome to the Revolution.” Like Edna Chavez, many people with other circumstances apart from school shootings were there to show support.
Emma Gonzalez, a Parkland shooting survivor, rallied the entire crowd with her powerful and emotional speech. Emma Gonzalez read off the names of the victims who lost their lives that horrible day and then said nothing. She stood in silence as the clock counted down to six minutes and twenty seconds. That is how long it took for the gunman to take the lives of 17 innocent children in Parkland. This moving and powerful speech sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
Many artists also took the stage in Washington to display support to the cause. Notably, Ariana Grande returned to the stage after a long hiatus after the bombing at her concert in Manchester last year. Grande, who is no stranger to tragedy, told the world this weekend that “We’ll be alright”. Joining Ariana Grande was Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Common and many more.
Wishing the circumstances were different, America finally saw a glimpse of hope for the future of this country. The March was a beautiful display of hope, generosity, and change that our country was in desperate search for. With still a lot of work to do, the March for Our Lives rally of 2018, was an enlightening start.