Racquel Campbell

Kids and teenagers should not have to become the face of a movement to stop violence against kids, yet it has been the reality. The average school shooting per year in the United States has been 273 incidents since 2020. The most infamous school shooting was the Parkland shooting, which took place in 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 17 people were killed, and 17 were injured in this shooting, perpetrated by expelled student Nikolas Cruz, who opened fire on his classmates with an AR-15 that he purchased the previous year. The Parkland shooting was the deadliest high school shooting in United States history. 

The first demonstration against gun violence following the Parkland shooting was a month after the shooting in February, in Washington, D.C. The protests were a part of the movement called March for Our Lives, a march that was organized by the Parkland students. This movement helped to restore humanity in people, and the support of the notion that gun violence needs to be under control in the United States. Stella Shipman, a student at Easton High School in Pennsylvania, who traveled to D.C. in support of the march said “We shouldn’t have to feel unsafe in our schools, it’s really just a bad thing to feel. It’s a place of safety. That’s what it should be.”

Number of U.S. school shootings per year (1990–2024)

In the movement, the Parkland student leaders outlined four policy goals in their March For Our Lives campaign:

These brave survivors are taking immediate action against gun violence, by actively advocating and protesting for the lives lost and injured over the past years, since the alarming rise of school shootings. Youth activism is inspiring as the young people at the center of these movements are actively striving for systemic and political change in the United States, and even globally. Youth activism shows up in a lot of systemic and unjust areas such as racism, climate change, and gender equality. Youth spread their messages through peaceful demonstrations, social media, raising money, and encouraging change from local legislation. They encourage other young people to show up, get involved, and stay informed on complex, polarized topics such as gun control laws. 

Youth activism is such an important and inspiring part of our society. It has existed for years, but with the recent emergence of violence against younger audiences, it has become more urgent than ever. The youth are encouraging other kids to get educated, and to educate others generally.  Youth activism motivates people to believe in real change and progress. Seeing children turn their pain into power, brings so much hope to the world, and the turmoil happening in it. Young kids who are being exposed to such traumatic events are using their experiences to help others, by speaking up against the harms they have been directly affected by. Youth activism is so inspiring, and the ‘March for Our Lives’ movement started by Parkland shooting survivors, is a constant reminder that advocacy drives change.

Works Cited

Korhonen, Veera. “Number of K-12 School Shootings U.S. 1999-2024.” Statista, 4 Nov. 2024, http://www.statista.com/statistics/1463594/number-of-k-12-school-shootings-us/.

Trace, Team. “March for Our Lives: Student-Led Protests against Gun Violence Draw Hundreds of Thousands.” The Trace, 24 Mar. 2018, http://www.thetrace.org/2018/03/march-for-our-lives-gun-violence-protests/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=9554283511&gbraid=0AAAAADG84lYgFz24FDTzmpIzYVuHj7LUa&gclid=CjwKCAiAz_DIBhBJEiwAVH2XwHVMIr1EwoP-tGRz8VKdWqdaR4thRdxoHVqTR5zpE3LAd7bP-ocaTxoC8GoQAvD_BwE. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.