Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Following the tragic high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, the survivors staged a protest against gun violence in the nation’s capital. Celebrities such as Oprah and George and Amal Clooney gave massive donations to support the “March For Our Lives” rally that took place on Saturday.
Jennifer Hudson sang her heart out in a moving performance of Bob Dylan’s, The Times They Are A-Changin. The two-time-grammy-winner lost her mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew in 2008 to gun violence.
“We’ve all lost somebody. I’m sure a long time ago, you never thought you’d be standing here today,” she said during the performance. “But we’re all here today for a reason. We all got a story, we all got a purpose, and we all want change.”
Another contributor to the movement was Carmelo Anthony who helped to make sure 4,500 Baltimore children did not miss the opportunity to march for their lives. In partnership with MTV and the NAACP, the NBA player arranged for the kids to travel in more than 80 busses to Washington D.C. The children were given the opportunity to see young people lead the fight for gun reform. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian made sure to bring their 4-year old daughter North West to the march so she could see future leaders speak.
Some of the most prominent voices calling for change were kids. Martin Luther King Jr‘s granddaughter was one of the speakers. The nine-year-old took the stage and expressed her dream of a gun-free world.
“My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character,”said Yolanda Renee King. “I have a dream that enough is enough and that this should be a gun free world. Period.”
King also encouraged the hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd to repeat her chant: “We are going to be a great generation.”
