Yolanda Renee King, the 9-year-old granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, took the podium Saturday during the “March for Our Lives” event in Washington. Capturing the crowd, she told the audience that she too has a dream.
“My grandfather had a dream that his four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” she said, referencing her grandfather’s famous speech. “I have a dream that enough is enough. That this should be a gun-free world. Period.”
As she delivered the lines not far from where her grandfather gave his famous address, the crowd roared in response. But King wasn’t finished. She then led the chant, “Spread the word. Have you heard? All across the nation. We… are going to be. A great generation.”
King was led out by Parkland shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin, who had just finished her own speech. Corin encouraged attendants to hound their local politicians for change.
“Keep screaming at your congressmen. Don’t be afraid because they have ‘senator’ in front of their name,” Corin said.
Hundreds of thousands of people attended youth-led, anti-gun rallies around the world Saturday, calling on lawmakers to tighten gun control in order to stop mass shootings and gun violence. The organizers claim that the young leadership of the initiative will set it apart from previous attempts to enact stronger gun-control legislation.
Over the past five weeks, after the murders of 17 people at the high school, CBS News has followed the students as they started a movement. It’s all featured in CBS News’ documentary “39 Days.” You can watch the one-hour documentary here.
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