Note originally written in English.
Honking cars supported the rallying chants of hundreds walking on Main Street on Saturday morning, “Why are we here? To march for our lives!”.
The motivated crowd of 400-500 gathered at the Redwood City Library, part of a day of marches organized by national organization "March for Our Lives". The Redwood City gathering was a joint effort by student leaders in the Sequoia Union and the San JoseMarch For Our Lives chapters and intended to draw attention to the push for stricter gun legislation and an end to gun violence.
March for Our Lives was founded nationally in 2018, in response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, in which 17 students lost their lives. The Sequoia Union chapter was started in 2019 and today’s efforts were led by current student organizers Nicholas Kwok, Christopher Kwok, and Nicholas Lawrence.
Marchers met at the front plaza of the Redwood City Public Library and walked several blocks through downtown, passing by an anti-gun violence mural, before heading back to the library.
Despite the 80-90 degree heat, the diverse crowd of young children, students, adults and community members was undeterred, uniting through passionate speeches, songs, chants, and a myriad of signs.
Local civic and community leaders expressed their support for March For Our Lives.
“We need more than thoughts and prayers, we need action from our lawmakers. We can not wait any longer, our children deserve the right to learn without fear,” said San Carlos Councilmember Laura Parmer-Lohan
The day of national marches follows the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvaldehat have highlighted the gun violence that plagues the country. Since the Uvlade shooting on May 24 where 22 people were killed and 18 were injured, there have been over 246 mass shootings through June 5th, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Local students are motivated to stop this violence and explained why they are called to action.
“We will continue fighting to stop tragedies from repeating themselves, and we are grateful that you are joining us in this fight,” said student organizer Nicholas Kwok.
"When I hear more stories about the impact of what gun violence can do, I am more and more determined to make sure that this doesn't happen again,” said fellow club member Aiden Jackson.
Sequoia Union High School District teacher Cindy Shusterman described tearfully talking to her class about her willingness to give her life to protect her students in the event of an armed intruder. However, Shusterman demanded action to prevent gun violence and school shootings.
“Teachers and students should take the summer to organize and then refuse to return to the classroom until something is done,” said Shusterman.
Bethany Talley, a member of "Moms Demand Actionshared her thoughts about speaking up for action against gun violence.
“I feel that it is very important that we help to put the word out and show that we are visible because this is such an important issue in our society today. ” said Talley.
Congressional hearings this week focused on emotional testimony from some of the survivors of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo.
The magnitude of the recent shootings appears to be spurring lawmakers to make attempts at bi-partisan agreements about gun control legislation, with the House recently passing the Protecting Our Children Actwhich would raise the age to legally buy semi- automatic weapons, strengthen regulations on ghost guns, and enact other gun safety measures. Despite such efforts, it is predicted that such efforts may not be successful in the Senate.
Undeterred, students locally are clearly making it known that everyone needs to make their voices heard and keep fighting to affect change.
Buoyed by the tremendous turnout, Kwok is optimistic that change can be accomplished.
“If we channel our fear and pain into hopelessness instead of action, the bad guys win. If the bad guys win, Uvalde will repeat itself, and more children will go to school in the morning and never return home. This cannot continue being the reality in America. It must stop. I hope you realize how powerful we are when we come together like we did today, that there truly is power in the masses.” Nicholas Kwok
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