In Pictures and Video: Highlights From the #NationalStudentWalkout

“What you are doing is of national significance,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told students in D.C. “You're leading this country in the right direction.”
Common Dreams,
Photo via Flickr CC, San Diego City College
National Student Walkout at San Diego City College.

Students, parents, and teachers walked out of thousands of high schools across the country on Wednesday to demand legislative action to address gun violence in the United States.

The national “Enough” walkout is part of a student-led movement to call for gun control reform after 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida last month—just the latest in a series of deadly mass shootings. Students will also head to Washington, D.C. for the “March for Our Lives” on March 24 and are planning a second nationwide walkout for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

Using the hashtags #Enough, #NationalSchoolWalkout, and #NationalWalkoutDay, protesters and journalists shared on social media photos, videos, and anecdotes from Wednesday’s demonstrations.

Parkland, Florida

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—the site of last month’s massacre—filed out into the football field for a 17-minute moment of silence.

Atlanta, Georgia

In Atlanta, about 600 students at Booker T. Washington High School left their classrooms to “take a knee” in a silent protest, taking inspiration from a number of famous athletes who have protested police brutality and institutionalized racism in recent months.

Boston, Massachusetts And Portland, Maine

Many students in New England, including in Boston and Portland, Maine, attended protests despite their schools being closed after heavy snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. Boston students marched to the State House to demand their legislators enact tougher gun control laws.

Granada Hills, California

In Granada Hills, California, students and teachers arranged themselves on the football field at Granada Hills Charter High School to spell out the word “ENOUGH,” while a gong sounded 17 times for the 17 people who were killed in Parkland.

Littleton, Colorado

At Columbine High School in Colorado, the site of an infamous mass shooting in 1999, students walked out and released balloons in memory of those killed in Florida.

New York, New York

Students in New York City gathered outside one of President Donald Trump’s hotels, and shouted: “Hey hey, NRA, how many kids did you kill today?”

Walking out alone…but not really alone

Rosa Rodriquez, a sophomore at Sayreville War Memorial High School in New Jersey—which reportedly threatened to suspend participants—was interviewed by local media about being the only student from her school to walk out.

And Justin Blackman, a student at Wilson Preparatory Academy in Wilson, North Carolina, also walked out by himself to mark the day.

Washington, D.C.

As Democratic members of Congress joined students outside the U.S. Capitol Building in D.C., the demonstrators greeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with cheers. Addressing the crowd over chants of “Bernie, Bernie,” Sanders said: “I am absolutely delighted and proud that you are here today. What you are doing is of national significance. You’re leading this country in the right direction. Thank you all.”

This article was republished from Common Dreams.

See also:
Two Simple Laws Could Solve America’s Epidemic Of Violence
Are Dead Children The Price Of Freedom?

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