On Saturday, March 24th, hundreds of thousands of people will descend on the U.S. Capitol in a march along Pennsylvania Avenue.
By Zach D. Roberts / 03.21.2018
It’s already been a long march for the the kids, parents and teachers that survived the shooting at the Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th.
That march has already included 17 funerals, hospital visits to those that barely made it out alive and that’s not considering the trauma of the day.
Once the kids decided that they wouldn’t ‘just’ be victims of yet another mass shooting, they took to social media and the airwaves, calling for change.
Not waiting the politically ‘right’ time to talk about gun violence after a tragedy, the students took their fate into their own hands and confronted spineless politicians like Marco Rubio and gun fetishists like the NRA’s Dana Loesch, on stage, in front of millions of viewers.
That’s when the new attacks came.
The NRA spread the lie that they were fed what to say by the media. Then both Wayne Lapierre and Dana Loesch took to the stage at CPAC and slandered the growing student-led movement, saying that she was nearly attacked at the CNN Town Hall, and that the kids were part of a conspiracy, coming for all their guns as part of a socialist surge.
I really wish I was kidding.
Somehow these kids, many of voting age now, have planned a massive march on Washington, D.C. through all the mourning of their classmates and teachers. On Saturday, March 24th, hundreds of thousands of people will descend on the U.S. Capitol in a march along Pennsylvania Avenue, and NationofChange will join them.
As I write this, there are 823 marches planned across not only the USA but the world.
Below is a cheat sheet I’ve put together with links about the marches and surrounding events.
The biggest event is going to be in Washington, D.C. but there will be good size satellite events in NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago to name a few.
If you’re not in one of the big cities, don’t worry, there’s likely already an event planned nearby you. Even Anchorage, Alaska already has one.
You can find an event near you and RSVP to get more info here.
If you’re at an event and want to share photos, videos or just show your support, here are some of the hashtags to use:
- #MarchForOurLives (followed by DC, NYC, etc.)
- #NeverAgain
- #ENOUGH
- #IWILLMARCH
I’ve started a twitter list here with some of the main sources of info from the March for Our Lives crew and associated accounts that you can follow on the day.
Even if you can’t make it to an event, pick up your phone on the day and make some noise on social media to make sure that this day makes a difference.
I’ll be adding to the list as time goes on, so if you have a recommended name or account I should add, tweet me @ZDRoberts and I’ll add if appropriate. If you have any direct questions for the MSD Students, they’re doing a Q&A on twitter, Thursday March 22nd from 7-8pm ET. They’ll be using the hashtag #AskMSDStudents.
If you’re in Washington, D.C. the day before the march, head over to the Shake Shack to help make posters for the march. Shake Shack has officially joined the march in solidarity and in financial support. Find more info here.
The march is scheduled to start at 12:00pm ET in Washington, D.C. and corresponding times in other cities, such as 9am for Los Angeles.
Currently, the weather forecast for Washington, D.C. on Saturday will be partly sunny and in the 40’s, so wear layers, and I know it may seem weird when it’s cold, but wear sun screen. The march will be over the course of several hours and there’s not a lot of shade on Mall.
Click image to enlarge
Make sure that you download the March for Our Lives App as it has pretty much everything you need to commit some successful protesting.
Lyft will be providing free transportation to the march, but with the numbers that are expected, I would not recommend relying on it. Check out the DC metro, which is quite good – but quickly gets overloaded on large event days like this. If you’re going to take the train, I highly recommend buying a smart trip pass with enough on it to get back and forth as the lines on the day to buy passes will be long (this is based on a LOT of personal experience).
The speakers will be joined by some big musical talent. Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande , Common and Miley Cyrus to name a few. Other Musicians have penned songs in honor of the march, like Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and Broadway singer Ben Platt. it’s called Found/Tonight and you can buy it here. Country music star Garth Brooks has penned a song as well, you can listen to it here (about 27mins in).
You can support the march directly on the March for Our Lives official page here.
NationofChange will be covering the march live, so be sure to follow us on Twitter @NationofChange and (me) our reporter there at @ZDRoberts.
And make sure you check NationofChange for photos and videos from the day. We’ll be doing a special feature piece on the thousands of veterans that will be marching in DC.
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Originally published by NationOfChange, free to the public.