A young woman proudly protests in front of the capital with a sign reading “#NEVERAGAIN” – a hashtag that has been flooding social media platforms following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting on February 14th. Hashtags help flag attention, become mantras for movements, and help frame the identities and emotions of social movements.
- John
Today marks one year since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. NBC’s Kate Snow sat down with three student survivors of the mass shooting that claimed 17 lives.
There will be no marching.
There will be no school walkouts.
Only a day of reflection and service and, perhaps most consequential, a time to grieve.
That is how many of the Parkland, Fla., survivors turned activists plan to spend Thursday, the first anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Seventeen students and staff members were gunned down last Valentine’s Day. Another 17 people were injured. Since the shooting, young Parkland survivors have emerged as the driving force in calling for stricter gun laws in the U.S. through a series of marches, school walkouts and voter registration drives.
Continue reading the full story.
Photos by Scott McIntyre for NPR
If you stand with the students and activists of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the 30,000 people killed by guns every year, we’re asking you to turn out for the March For Our Lives. It’s time we say #NeverAgain and end gun violence.
There are 828 sibling marches planned in conjunction with the main march in Washington D.C. This is global, and chances are there is one near you.
We understand that not everyone can attend a march, so we want to make it easy for everyone to participate. Your voice matters, even if you can’t be there in person. That’s why we’re creating a virtual space with optional ways for everyone to participate:
You can show your support that day by posting your illustrations, your poems, your promises—anyway you want to express yourself. We even have stickers to add to your photos, if you want. They’re a collaboration between Tumblr Creatrs (@creatrs) and our friends at Kanvas.
They’re in your app now. Make sure to tag your posts with #NeverAgain so everyone can see your support.
This is it, Tumblr. This is how change happens. When people ask #WhatWillYouDo, you can point them to Saturday, March 24; To the march you participated in, the money you donated, or the messages you spread across the globe with social media.
Good luck and stay safe.
Policy changes regarding gun violence are urgent, but they must be based in real risk factors. Data consistently shows that mental health disabilities don’t lead to gun violence.
Stop scapegoating disabled folks, and focus on effective changes.
Mental healthcare needs to be reformed, but that discussion and discussions about preventing mass shootings are not intertwined. The culprit is American gun legislation and American gun culture.
We stand with ASAN in focusing on finding and enacting real solutions to gun violence.
Those darn kids are at it again. It’s not enough that they just pulled off one of the largest protests in the history of the country. Now they want to follow that up with direct engagement with legislators? What’s HAPPENING?!!!!!
As noweasels pointed out Sunday, the student organizers are now calling for nationwide town halls with our congress critters on Saturday April 7th to engage them directly and get them on the post-march record regarding solutions to gun violence. (To get you up to speed: our country sucks when it comes to gun violence—38,000 deaths a year—and nothing’s being done about it.) Which brings me to this week’s organization in our Energize An Ally spotlight. I wasn’t aware of Town Hall Project before. What a great concept…
Town Hall Project empowers constituents across the country to have face-to-face conversations with their elected representatives.We are campaign veterans and first time volunteers. We come from a diversity of backgrounds and live across the country. We share progressive values and believe strongly in civic engagement.
We research every district and state for public events with members of Congress. Then we share our findings to promote participation in the democratic process.
This movement is diverse, open source, and powered by citizens.
They’re also fast. As soon as they heard about the students’ “Town Hall for Our Lives” plan, they went to work and posted a step-by-step guide to organizing a successful town hall meeting, including how to embarrass a congress member who refuses to show up. They even keep a list of those who haven’t shown up for a single one during this legislative session.
“You have more power than you think. Town halls are one of the most effective ways to use it. Remember: you are their boss.”
Supporting everyone who will be marching tomorrow.
(Image description: six orange squares with white text in the center.
Top left: “End Gun Violence”.
Top Right: “Standing With Students”.
Center left: “Support Survivors”.
Center right: “Queers Support Gun Control”.
Bottom left: “Queers Against Gun Violence”.
Bottom right: “Stand Against Gun Violence”.)
Over the past 2 years, we've granted over $1 million to students across the U.S. through our 50 States, 50 Grants, 5,000 voices initiative to help make their schools more welcoming for LGBTQ+ students.
And yup - we're doing it again.
Do you have an idea that would help make your school better for LGBTQ+ students? Maybe like building...
🟣 A gender-affirming closet
🟣 Your school's first Pride parade
🟣 An LGBTQ+ mural on campus
🟣 A safe space or community garden, or
🟣 Resources for your GSA club?
See some past projects from other students here for inspo.
We know that students know what they need most at their own schools - so middle and high school students across the U.S., DC, and territories can apply now through April 1 for one of our school grants to win up to $10,000 to actually make your project a reality!
The application, FAQs, and more are all available at 50states50grants.org.
Apply now through April 1 - can't wait to see what you all come up with.
We are so proud to be supporting @itgetsbetterproject's 50 States 50 Grants initiative this year—an initiative that seeks to uplift and empower LGBTQIA+ youth in high schools and middle schools in the US, Washington DC, and US territories. If that's you, you can apply now!
Join the 50 States 50 Grants newsletter for info on webinars they're running to help with the application process!
