I took these pictures on March 24, 2018. I was in Washington, DC at March for Our Lives the anti-gun violence march organized by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The school had been the site of a mass shooting a little over a month before. As the mother of a then 2.5-year-old, I was outraged and disgusted that we lived in a country that allowed this to happen, that gun manufacturers and their needs were being placed above people. I was furious that as thousands gathered to listen to speeches from kids who had hidden under desks and in closets a month earlier to escape the gunfire, President Trump was on a plane out of DC, not even bothering to stick around and hear them. What a joke.
I don’t know about you guys, but I have participated in more marches, rallies, and protests in the past 6 years than I ever have in my life. Women’s marches, BLM marches, anti-gun marches, LGBTQ marches, all the marches. I don’t know if it’s because I had a kid and it opened me up in a new way or because it’s just been so awful since, but I know that there has to be a better way and that showing up feels good. I love the energy of activism. It’s electric, full of hope, determination, grit, and a deep desire for change. Talk about some high vibes.
Progress is never easy, but it can be made. It has been made. While it seems like we are on this never-ending wave of pain, destruction, trauma, and shock, riding right alongside those feelings are joy, determination, resilience, discovery, acceptance, and awakening. As my Dad likes to say, it’s always darkest before dawn.
And let’s be real, it’s been pretty fucking dark. COVID, reckoning with racism, abortion bans, easy access to guns, violent attacks on our capital…ON OUR CHILDREN.
This country is being held hostage by archaic rules and Republican senators who are unwilling to let the people's will prevail. We saw that in 2016 when Trump lost the popular vote but ended up president. But let us remember that they are the minority. The face of America is changing rapidly and it is time for the dinosaurs to fall. Let them.
It’s easy to lose hope, to say that things will never change, I too feel that way. Humans are extraordinarily disappointing at times. But then I remember that the cracks are where the light shines in and we are seeing cracks in our system like never before. My fervent prayer is that we don’t become complacent, we don’t give up hope. Because if we lose that, what else is left? We’ve got to keep fighting. I keep thinking of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King
I’ll be joining the next March for Our Lives here in LA on June 11th. They are taking place across the country, and if you haven’t hit the streets with a sign, shouting at the top of your voice with others about something you truly care about let me tell you, you are missing out. Visit the link in our bio to find out details about your local march.
We’re donating to the families of the Buffalo shooting and the Uvalde shooting. If you would like to as well there is a link in our bio. You’ll also find a link to contact your State representatives about some of the most pressing issues in our country. Let them hear your voice.
