Damen Alexander raises a fist during his speech at the St. Louis March For Our Lives event on Saturday, March 24.
Four student organizers behind the St. Louis March for Our Lives event expected about 3,000 or 4,000 people to show up this past Saturday. Instead, nearly triple the amount did.
Police estimate that between 10 and 15 thousand people turned out downtown for the march, which coincided with marches across the nation in protest of gun violence. The student-led marches, including the main event in Washington D.C., were organized following the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
In St. Louis, St. Charles Community College student Haley Zink, who co-organized the city's March For Our Lives, first got involved with the event through Facebook. When it was announced in February that marches would be taking place, a local graphic designer set up an event page and organized student meetings. There, Zink met Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School senior Lauren Malloy, St. Louis University High School senior Damen Alexander, and Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville student Morgan Lowe.
"I wanted to get involved on a more local level with people my age," Zink says. "We all come from different backgrounds and bring something different to the table."
Malloy says she's always wanted to be influential in politics. "I thought I'd have to wait until I'm older or had graduated college or at least high school," she says. "The Parkland kids have been really inspiring in helping me realize that I don't have to wait.
"We're not too young to have a voice—we can do this now, and people will listen."
The four students divvied up responsibilities, from logistics to social media to outreach to speeches—and, in the end, it came together. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill showed her support by marching on Saturday, as did State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr., who spoke to the crowd.
Photo by Daniel Stout
Lauren Malloy and Haley Zink in front of the March For Our Lives St. Louis crowd
Alexander, one of the student co-organizers, also took the stage alongside Zink, Malloy, and Lowe. "We're tired of being murdered in our schools and our streets," Alexander said to those gathered at the march. "Today we say, 'Never again.'"
With a megaphone in hand, Zink and Alexander led many of the chants during the march. At one point, as the crowd gathered between two large buildings, the chants filled the air. "I could just hear the huge echo," Zink says. "Our voices were reverberating off the walls. It was really amazing."
Malloy says she was inspired by the sight of Democratic Congressman Lacy Clay marching beside Democratic challenger Cori Bush. "They are opponents," says Malloy, "but this is such an important issue that [it shows] we can all be together for it."
But the march was not the end of the students' reform efforts, Zink adds. The students have made plans for a benefit concert at Foam this Friday, March 30, with proceeds going to Everytown for Gun Safety.
On April 7, the group has organized Town Hall for Our Lives, which coincides with town halls that will be held across the country on that day (as encouraged by Parkland students). The event in St. Louis will be held at Kirkwood Baptist Church. "Join us for a town hall where we ask our reps, candidates, and public officials questions centered around the issue of gun violence in St. Louis," the event page reads.
The page notes that the group has invited such elected officials as Mayor Lyda Krewson, McCaskill, and Ann Wagner—though they have not confirmed.
March for Our Lives St. Louis also hopes to host an art exhibit on April 20 to showcase works by people who've been affected by gun violence. The group also plans to encourage others to register to vote and to contact legislators about gun reform.
Before the march, Zink recalls, skeptical naysayers asked, Are you just a bunch of loud-mouthed kids? "I want it to be extremely clear to everyone that we are not," she says, "that we have plans in place. We have allies across the city and organizers across the city. We're going to fight to reform gun laws in the city and in Missouri. It affects so many people. We've never grown up in a society where gun violence wasn't normalized. That is not OK."
And while Malloy says she's grateful to those who attended the march, she adds, "Our work is not nearly done."
Editor's note: This post has been updated to include information on Town Hall for Our Lives.
