I just want to give all these kids a hug.
The media was so involved with their lives that sometimes people forgot that they were just kids!
We all remember what happened at Parkland.
February 14, 2018, a gunman walked onto the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus and took the lives of 14 students and 3 staff members.
(To stay in tone with the book, I will not be mentioning the gunman's name.)
Because of that moment, an entire generation began talking about gun reform. The Parkland kids wanted nothing more than to put this topic in the media. They wanted their peers to not be killed while trying to get an education. They wanted their congressman to understand that this is not going to stop happening until people start listening to those affected by mass shootings.
But these are KIDS.
They're teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18.
Young kids lost siblings.
Parents lost children.
Students lost teachers.
Teachers lost students.
Friends lost friends.
Instead of the traditional grieving process, these kids set off to make a movement.
March For Our Lives (MFOL) was born because of that fateful day.
These kids were in the news, on national tours, receiving international awards.
Every waking moment of their lives were now focused on one thing:
NEVER AGAIN.
Dave Cullen spent almost a year with the kids from Parkland. He saw how hard they were working to make a change. He saw how dedicated they were to getting their message to the world. He believed these kids were going to be huge, and he was right.
MFOL started a movement that kept gun reform in the media far longer than anyone had ever seen before. They wanted people to listen to them and would give it their best shot. They organized marches, rallys, walkouts, die-ins, and national tours. They spoke to congressmen, talk show hosts, politicians, activists, but most importantly, they talked to other teens. They partnered with urban city kids who were less concerned about getting shot AT school and more concerned about getting shot GOING to school. These kids wanted to focus all their energy on gun reform, in the hopes of this never happening again.
I was so nervous going into this book.
Dave Cullen is such an amazing nonfiction story teller.
The story he told here was how March For Our Lives came about.
He wasn't here to talk about "it."
He wanted to show how a group of teens could start a movement.
Want to learn more about March For Our Lives?
Looking for other books by Dave Cullen?
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