I walked in Boston on March 24 in the March for Our Lives but didn’t stay to listen to the speeches on the Common. Later, I saw some of the CSPAN coverage of the March for Our Lives In Washington, DC (https://www.c-span.org/video/?442255-1/march-lives-rally-coverage) and decided that it would be good to watch the whole rally. Over the next few days I did that, fast forwarding through most of the musical numbers. Here are my notes.
Cameron Kasky, Parkland FL
The agenda:
Ban assault weapons
High capacity magazines
Universal background checks
Forced to become adults, targeted as adults.
Common sense gun laws.
Trevon Bosley, Chicago
Every day shootings are an every day problem
[another person on stage holding a picture of his brother who was shot and killed]
[Bosley links gun violence to economic priorities of the administration]
Gun violence is an American problem
[and racism]
Delaney Tarr, Parkland
We cannot move on…. We will not forget
Fight for our lives, fight for our dead friends
Every march, every moment
We are here for real change. We are here to lead.
If there is no assault weapons ban passed, we will vote them out…..
We will take action every day in every way until they simply can not ignore us any more…
We know what we want, we know how to get it, and we are not waiting any longer.
--
enough is enough
it’s time for a change
never again
[Three hashtags repeated throughout the films shown from the stage]
—
battling hourglass spots
[“I know you are but what am I” tactic, which seems to be working well for the MSD students]
—
Sarah Chadwick, Parkland
$1.02 for Marco Rubio, how much per person Rubio gets from gun lobby
Get ready to be voted out by us, the future.
We’ve been fighting since Columbine, since Sandy Hook…..
We will not be treated as a statistic in this country… because we will put an end to those statistics.
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
[Spanish]
Edna Chavez, Los Angeles
I am a survivor.
I learned to duck from bullets before I learned how to read.
Ricardo [her brother who was shot and killed] was his name. Can you say it with me?
I carry that trauma with me everywhere I go.
My community of South Los Angeles has become acustomed to this violence. It is normal.
Instead of protecting black and brown students, school police departments profile and criminalize us.
We should have a department specializing in restorative justice
Root causes
How many more children have to die before this problem is finally acknowledged?
We should feel empowered and supported in our schools.
Fund mentorship programs, mental resources, internships and job opportunities.
Alex Wind, Parkland
No gun legislation has been passed since 2008, ten years ago.
People believe that the youth of this country has no significance.
Safer without feeling like a prison
No clear backpacks
Force the over 200 politicians who haven’t taken a stand on this issue to do so
Bullets do not discriminate so why should we?
All is comes down to is life or death.
If you take money from the NRA, you have chosen death.
We choose life.
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
Zion Kelly, Washington DC
Students who live in constant paranoia to and from their way to school.
Expanding gun free zones to free passage to and from school in Washington DC, proposed legislation
Just like all of you I’ve had enough.
David Hogg, Parkland
Most representives have no stance on guns and to that we say no more
We are going to make this a voting issue
Tomorrow is the beginning of democracy
Now is the time to come together not as Democrats not as Republicans but as Americans.
We will save lives.
Let’s put the USA over the NRA
Let’s take this to local legislatures and the mid-term elections.
—
Chant: No more
—
Naomi Wadler, Alexandria VA (11)
I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African American girls whose stories don't make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don't lead the evening news
My friends and I might still be 11 and we might still be in elementary school, but we know. We know life isn't equal for everyone and we know what is right and wrong.
People have said I am too young to have these thoughts.
We have 7 short years until we too have the right to vote.
Mya Middleton, Chicago
Chicago goes through this every day.
[First hand description of her encounter] he pulled out his silver pistol and pointed it at me
Guns have long scared our children, corrupted our adults, and silenced our politicians.
We deserve safer schools, safer streets….
We must stop this self-inflicted civil war while we still can
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
Matt Post, Montgomery County, Maryland
The greed of the few
American safety
The tragedies in between the massacres
We choose real change
Extremism of complacency, extremism of love
March today, canvas tomorrow, vote 227 days from now
Lead our country down the path of righteousness [morality]
——
Chant: won’t back down
[after montage of NRA commercials]
——
Christopher Underwood, Brooklyn, 11 years old, brother shot and killed when he was 5
It won’t be their hands that end up cold and it won’t be their hands that end up dead, it will be ours, the young people of our country
I have watched for years as gun violence has continued to take a toll on communities across the country. [years]
Don’t I deserve to grow up?
Our lives matter.
Jaclyn Corin, Parkland
Privilege and affluence
Share the stage with those who have always stared down the barrel of a gun
CDC research
Disease continues to spread although we have discovered the cure
We’re here to shake them awake.
Calls for Congressional recess town halls
96 deaths by firearm every day is not great
We’ll be the ones to make America safe
[Voice breaks when saying she doesn’t want any other community to join hers in gun violence]
[Brings out MLK Jr’s grand-daughter]
Yolanda Renee King
Gun-free world period.
We are going to be a great generation
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
Ryan Dietsch, Parkland
This is real life.
Arm our teachers with the funds they need
The real disruption to the educational process is staring down the barrel of a gun
We’re done hiding, we’re done with being afraid
Register, educate, vote
Aalayah Eastmond, Parkland
Survivor
Studying Holocaust history when bullets started flying in
It is 38 days from the Parkland shooting and nothing has changed
We need change now not only in schools but in urban communities as well.
—
Chant: We want change
—
Samantha Fuentes, Parkland
It’s as if we need permission to ask our friends not to die
Let’s save one another
Unite with one another
Happy Birthday for Nick Dworets who would have been 18 [today] if he hadn’t been killed at Parkland
Alex King, Chicago, Peace Warrior (https://positivepeacewarriornetwork.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/chicagos-peace-warriors/)
Good afternoon family
Our pain makes us family
MLKJr: the beloved community is the foundation of the future
This will not stop until we are properly resourced in our community
Unity is strength
[clapping exercise]
D’Angelo McDade
For we are survivors
We are survivors of a cruel and silent nation where freedom where justice equality purpose are not upheld.
When will we as a nation understand that nonviolence is the way of life for a courageous people
[one of the 6 principles of Kingian nonviolence https://positivepeacewarriornetwork.wordpress.com/kingian-nonviolence/6-principles/]
Poverty cannot cure poverty only resources can do that.
Survivors of social, emotional, and physical harm
[first bible quote] above all, love each other
Let we hear you say, “We"
Mathew Soto, Sandy Hook, CT
Too many times has gunfire been in the hallways of schools across this country. Too many schools, too many churches, too many movie theaters, too many neighborhoods, too many homes.
We do not have to live like this.
Many of the students that were in fourth grade when my sister was murdered are now freshman in high school. Five years ago, and no change has come. Today over 400 students, teachers, and parents of Newtown families are here marching with us. [applause and cheers]
Tommy Murray
I am a junior at Newtown high school. I live in Sandy Hook and I attended the Sandy Hook elementary school
Met with politicians but they did nothing
Ban assault weapons
Jackson Middlemen
And I am also a junior at Newtown high school. Tommy and I lead a gun violence prevention group that has been rallying since we were 11.
We have worked incredibly hard for the last five years to protect other communities, but apparently Sandy Hook was not enough for America to make the changes, but after Parkland we feel hope. You have inspired millions of students and adults all around the world. We want to thank the Parkland students, and we want to let them know Newtown high school students stand with them, long after the media trucks leave. We will stand by you with healing and recovery. We are connected by a tragedy that could have been prevented if lawmakers had the courage to enact smart gun legislation. [applause and cheers]
Vote you out
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
The world wants change. Give it to us now
—
Chant: Vote them out
—
Malala Yousafzai
Ask the student leaders what you can do to help
——
Let's make background checks universal stop the pipeline of illegal guns, raise the age of buying a gun to save lives. Let's make these dreams real. Weapons have no place -- we are in the march for our lives. We won't stop until we make this country safer. Now it's our turn, enough is enough. It is time for a change. [cheers and applause]
—
Jennifer Hudson
Singing “change" with the crowd
——
We are united we are called the United States of America for that reason Together we are whole, together we are one. Look to your left, look to your right, brothers and sisters is what I see. Together we unite to make whole.
——
David Hogg
Register and vote