March For Our Lives: Six key takeaways from the US gun control rallies
BBC News, March 25, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43531391
It was the biggest gun control protest in a generation. Hundreds of rallies were staged across the US and beyond as marchers filled the streets calling for the implementation of tighter measures following the deadly mass shooting at a Florida school in February.
That incident not only ignited the #NeverAgain movement, but also Saturday’s mass demonstrations, which took place under the banner of March For Our Lives and were led by a rally in Washington DC attended by some 200,000 demonstrators, according to CBS News.
With events not just in the US but as far afield as London, Paris, Mauritius, Tokyo, Stockholm, Sydney, Geneva and Berlin, the day was made up of powerful messages delivered by articulate students and children, most of whom have already in some way experienced gun violence.
Here are six key moments from some of the biggest US rallies since the Vietnam War era.
1. Survivor shows the power of silence

Emma Gonzalez demonstrated the power of silence during her speech
One of the most emotionally charged moments came when Emma Gonzalez, one of the student survivors of the mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, took to the podium in Washington DC.
Ms Gonzalez, who has been at the forefront of the recent student-led protests, delivered a powerful speech in which she listed the 17 people killed at her school before she fell silent for several minutes.
See video here: httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDEc4ImIVHk
When an alarm beeped, she switched it off and noted that six minutes and 20 seconds had passed since she first took the stage, saying they represented the exact time it took the gunman to kill her classmates.
The crowd erupted into chants of “Emma, Emma” as she left the stage.
2. MLK’s granddaughter also has a dream

Yolanda Renee King: “I have a dream that enough is enough”
The nine-year-old granddaughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, Yolanda Renee King, touched the large crowds as she shared her “dream” in a surprise appearance.
“I have a dream that enough is enough,” she said, referencing her grandfather’s famous I Have a Dream speech on ending racism, which was delivered in 1963 close to where she now stood.
See video here: httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP2pAMifYBI
“That this should be a gun-free world – period,” she added.
She then told those gathered to “spread the word all across the nation” as they roared in support.
3. Girl, 11, inspires America

“I represent African-American women who are simply statistics”
She may only be 11, but Naomi Wadler’s strong voice at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC is still reverberating across the US.
The fifth grader from Alexandria, Virginia, said she represented African-American girls ignored by the media and suffering from gun violence.
See video here: httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ZUDImTIQ8
“I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper or lead on the evening news,” she said.
She added that she represented those who are “simply statistics” instead of “vibrant, beautiful girls who are full of potential”.