An impassioned introduction to a speech from Emma Gonzalez at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington was followed by six minutes of straight silence as she stood at the podium without saying a single word.
With the cue of a phone alarm, Gonzalez informed the crowd watching and waiting that six minutes and twenty seconds had passed, the time it had taken for Stoneman Douglas High School shooter to murder seventeen people and injure seventeen more.
Gonzalez, a survivor of the shooting, was one of the millions of Americans that took to the streets of American cities last Saturday for the March For Our Lives rally, a movement ignited by the group of Stoneman Douglas High School teenagers that has spread like wildfire nationwide to unite all voices in protest of gun laws in America.
Joining the crowd are not only students and teachers, but also several celebrities who have used their voices and their attendance to bring motion to the movement. The March For Our Lives Washington rally saw Kim Kardashian and her husband Kanye West and son North West take to the streets to march.
On the day of the march, Kardashian’s Tweet promoting the movement was just one out of hundreds of other celebrities and other high profile community members endorsing rallies across the country on social media, including other members of her family such as Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, and other celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga contributing their inspiring messages to the movement.
Celebrity singers Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus also performed at the Washington rally, with Ariana Grande singing “Be Alright” and Miley Cyrus giving an emotional performance of her hit single “The Climb”.
Paul McCartney, former member of the Beatles, also showed up at the New York rally to give a speech about the gun murder of his friend and colleague John Lennon back in December 1980.
The US crowds were also not the only crowds that took part in the March For Our Lives movement on Saturday. Approximately 800 rallies all over the world marched with the movement to show their international support, including crowds from Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland.
With the #MarchForOurLives hashtag trending with over 3.3 million Tweets, their voices were certainly not alone.