On March 24, millions of people all over America participated in the March for our Lives to protest the current lack of gun control laws by the government and the ban of military grade weapons sales to the general public. The event, organized by the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida, featured speakers who gave impassioned speeches regarding gun violence issues, as well as performers who moved people with their emotional poetry and music.

I, along with my fellow leaders from the I Am Diverse Club, Club ADVOCATE, and the Feminist Club, chose to go to the march in Oakland. There, the issue of gun violence is very prevalent, and it was very well represented in the speakers and performers who presented at the march.

We heard from the student organizers, all young locals of Oakland, who spoke about the underlying racism at the core of gun violence. Speakers like Kalie Burke, Ellie Davis, and Christine Haggan, explained how Oakland, especially the majority African American population, is very much impacted by these problems and what we can do to help rectify them. Organizers encouraged marchers to register to vote or to vote in the next midterms. They informed us that we had the power to choose who we want to have as our country’s leadership and that by using that power, we are taking that first step towards changing the world.

To see such young leaders taking initiative and fighting for the safety of people all over was really inspiring, especially when they addressed the bigger problems within the gun control movement. I am proud to have been a part of the March For Our Lives and to have marched in solidarity with my peers and fellow student leaders, and we will continue our fight for gun control and for a better future.