Washington Post: “Florida students chanting ‘We want change’ walk out of schools to protest gun violence”
Students and staff at a South Florida high school walked out of class Tuesday to protest gun violence and marched to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 students and staff members were killed by a gunman using a semiautomatic rifle.
Protests were also staged Tuesday at Fort Lauderdale High School and McArthur High in Hollywood, Fla., following others in recent days at other schools in the region.
The largest event Tuesday was held by hundreds of students and staff at West Boca Raton Community High School, who chanted, “We want change, we want change” as they marched with police accompaniment to the Stoneman Douglas campus, about 10 miles away. Stoneman Douglas has been closed since Wednesday and is set to reopen next week, with teachers arriving Monday and students resuming class the next day.
The march took place on the same day that some students from Parkland traveled to Tallahassee to talk to state legislators about gun control efforts.
Also Tuesday, George and Amal Clooney said they are donating $500,000 to March for Our Lives demonstrations supporting gun control that have been called for across the country March 24. This is a note the Clooneys posted to the March for Our Lives Facebook page:
“Amal and I are so inspired by the courage and eloquence of these young men and women from Stoneman Douglas High School,” George Clooney said in a statement Tuesday. “Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country, and in the name of our children Ella and Alexander, we’re donating $500,000 to help pay for this groundbreaking event. Our children’s lives depend on it.”
Hours later, Oprah Winfrey donated half a million dollars herself to the cause, tweeting:
George and Amal, I couldn’t agree with you more. I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to ‘March For Our Lives.’ These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard.
