Thousands of students took over city parks and town commons Saturday to protest gun violence as part of the worldwide March For Our Lives.
Boston participants started their march at Madison Park High School in Roxbury, a community familiar with gun violence. Those who joined the march included students from Mattapan and Dorchester, two places where past anti-gun rallies have been fortunate to attract a few dozen people. That wasn't the case this time.
Parents, teachers and other adult supporters were among the massive crowd, but as they made their way to Boston Common, young people were out front. Students like ninth grader Khyman James of Boston took the lead, armed with thoughtfulness and a sense of focus.
“I feel as though America has lost their right to say that they're doing everything they can to protect students in schools mentally and physically,” he said. “I feel as though there needs to be more background checks and longer waiting lists for guns and a total ban on assault rifles. And it puts fear in my heart and my friends’ hearts because it can happen at any time.”
Chants such as “No more NRA” and “Black Lives Matter” could be heard as the crowd made its way through the streets. Once they reached the Boston Common, they were joined by thousands of other young people from outside the city. They were united by their fight to end gun violence, but also by fear.
“It’s getting worse and worse every day,” said Lexington middle schooler Anvi Gokarn. “And we shouldn’t feel scared every time we go to school or unsafe in public areas.”
Adults who joined the march, such as Patty Nolan, acknowledged that the younger generation made this happen only six weeks after the movement was ignited by the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“It makes me hopeful. I am in awe. I admire them, and I just hope all of us can work across the generations and across all the kind of divides that we see in our country to support them,” Nolan said.
The Boston Police Department estimated 100,000 participated in Saturday’s march from Roxbury to the Boston Common. Sen. Ed Markey, who called in to Boston Public Radio during the march, called it a sea of humanity protesting the NRA’s iron-clad grip on Congress.
“I have been marching for two and a half hours with them, and I would say that every single community in Massachusetts is represented here. It’s Ipswich and Marblehead out to Springfield and down to Cape Cod,” he said. “This is just an amazing outpouring.”
While many gathered in Boston, some stayed closer to home, such as the 500 people who gathered at Lynch park in Beverly. There, people came energized and optimistic.
“This country is made up of people and by people acting on change," he said. "Change will happen, hopefully. We can only hope.”
Others hoped for change, but didn’t expect it.
“I would like to think that it would [change things]. Being realistic, I don’t think it’s going to,” said Beverly resident Joel Black. “I think the legislators are not doing anything. I think the NRA has them in their pockets and nothing will be accomplished.”
An estimated 1,000 people showed up in Worcester, where the mood was festive. Students seemed almost surprised by the turnout, with such little time to organize. One Oxford student carried a sign that read, “I want to become a statistician, not a statistic.”
“I do aspire to be a statistician when I’m older, and I don’t want to become just another statistic of someone who died at a school shooting,” said 16-year-old Lexi Millette.
Whether it was in Beverly or on the North Shore, or west to Worcester, Saturday was a day voices rose up in protest. With protesters chanting “Register to vote!” there was a big emphasis on getting to the polls to make a difference. Young people will bring about change in the voting booth, says Worcester resident Yael Savage.
“They are not just going to be talking," she said. "They will be voting. They will be changing our Congress. They will be changing our laws."
In Springfield, there was a similar tone. Sixth grader Paul Lumpkin is years away from a voting booth, but safety is a priority for him now.
“It’s not really safe. Schools are being threatened. ... Our school was recently threatened,” he said. “Not everybody felt safe, people stayed home, and we’re out here to tell people we’re against gun violence.”
Springfield is home to gun manufacturer Smith and Wesson. Student organizers had planned to march past the fortress-like gun factory, but organizer Trevaughn Smith said there was a change in plans.
“We don’t want Smith and Wesson to close down. That’s not the point we’re trying to drive through,” Smith said. “We just want them, as a company, because they … can aspire to change, to change gun laws.”
There were counter-protestors at some Massachusetts rallies, but very few. Some of the adults in attendance reminisced about the student Vietnam War protests 50 years ago. But this time, there were no police dogs and not a whiff of tear gas. As for protest music, on the common at Barnstable Town Hall on Cape Cod, guitar player Kathleen Haree hit notes from the folk era. The entire day signaled a new era of protest.
