March For Our Lives: Adults, Teens Work To Plan Frankfort Rally

FRANKFORT, IL — Last week, hundreds of south suburban students participated in a nationwide walkout of classes to mark the one-month anniversary of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people. The March 14 event was an opportunity for teens to honor the memory of the victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and speak out for stricter firearm laws, but more than 800 global rallies this weekend — including demonstrations in Frankfort and Chicago — will allow adults to join kids in raising their voices over gun violence.

March for Our Lives will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at Breidert Green in Frankort. Speakers, including parents and students from Lincoln-Way East, Andrew, Joliet Central and other surrounding high schools, will be on hand before a march through the village's downtown. (Organizers are still finalizing the complete route and hope to include LaGrange Road, as well.)

The Frankfort rally is being planned by Southwest Suburban Activists and Moms Demand Action, and organizers received a grant from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit aimed at ending gun violence and building safer communities, according to Emily Biegel, director and founder of SWSA. So far, 150 people have said they're attending, and organizers expect as many as 300 participants, she said.

"It has been so fun to work with students and to get their perspectives," said Biegel, a Frankfort resident, of the combined student-adult organizing effort. "Their tenacity and enthusiasm are wonderful."

When it comes to sounding the charge for social change over issue of gun violence, Biegel admits that it's the older generation that is learning from the next wave coming up.

"As adults, we have failed [the younger generation]," she said. "I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened. At that point, [mass school shootings were] still an anomaly, and I truly thought it wouldn't happen again. We were told to be nicer and cautious of our peers. We were not encouraged to rise up and demand better. Over the last 19 years, we have subscribed to that, and nothing has changed.

"I am in awe of the courage these young people are showing. We will follow their lead and demand change. We don't need to live this way."

More Patch School Walkout Coverage:

• Lincoln-Way Eeast Event 'Very Mature,' D210 Supt. Says
  
• Tinley Park Students Remember Victims, Call For Action
  
• Oak Forest Students Form '17' To Honor Victims

As one of the students involved with setting up Frankfort's March for Our Lives, Micaela Wagner, a junior at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, has been equally inspired by working on the rally with older organizers, as well as teens her own age.

"Being part of the walkout [last week] was very emotional for me," she said. "Seeing students my age stand up for what they believe in and being vocal about it was extremely empowering."

Participating in the school walkout was a moving experience, too, for Hailey Majka, a Frankfort resident who is a junior at Martin P. Mackay Education Center in New Lenox.

"It was very emotional for all of us, and a lot of the students and teachers were hugging and in tears," she said.

Hailey credits her participation in the school demonstration to the bravery of the student survivors of the shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The example they've set with their outspokeness has motivated her to continue her activism when it comes to stopping gun violence, she said.

"They are the reason why I believe that I could help make a change, even as a 16 year old," Hailey told Patch.

"Knowing that there are other kids my age that believe in this as strongly as I do has been amazing. … I have always had so much faith for people my age and what we will be able to do for the world when the time comes, but I'm only just realizing that our time to change things could be now," she added.

Along with sending a message about gun violence as an effort to "galvanize our community," Biegel says the march will be a chance to see where lawmakers and candidates running for elected office stand on the issue. Volunteers at the rally will be registering voters and providing information about how to stay involved after the event, she said.

"As an activist group, we are constantly asked to support causes and candidates, and we do so with pleasure," Biegel said. "However, this event will be a litmus test to see who has our backs and know who is going to stand up for the kids. We will be keeping track of who shows up and marches to demand change. We will see who values human life and taking on gun violence prevention. Anyone who doesn't will need to look elsewhere when they need our support. We are laser-focused on improving our community and making changes that lead to more equitable lives for all."

March for Our Lives

When: The rally starts at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24. Participants are set to begin the march at around 2:45 p.m.

Where: Breidert Green in downtown Frankfort. Organizers are still finalizing the exact route for the march.

More Information: Go to the Facebook page for Southwest Suburban Activists for details and how to register for the Frankfort rally. For information about other marches across the country, go to the national website for the event.

Image via Southwest Suburban Activists | March for Our Lives