Naomi Wadler, Young Alexandria Girl, Inspires Crowd At D.C. Rally

Among the many student leaders who addressed the March For Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. on Saturday was Naomi Wadler. Unlike her fellow speakers, Wadler is just 11-years-old and helped organize the walkout at George Mason Elementary School in Alexandria on March 14.

Addressing the rally, Wadler said the students at her school walked out for 18 minutes, not the 17 minutes that was standard across most school walkouts. Wadler said the extra minute was for 17-year-old Courtlin Arrington, a senior at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama who was shot and killed at her school in March.

Randall Woddfin, the mayor of Birmingham, thanked Wadler in a tweet for taking the time to remember Arrington.

"I am here today to represent Courtlin Arrington, I am here today to represent Hadia Pendleton, I am here today to represent Tiana Thompson, who at just 16 was shot dead in her home here in Washington D.C.," Wadler said. "I am here today to acknowledge and represent the the African American girls whose stories don't make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don't lead on the evening news.

"I represent the African American women who are victims of gun violence who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls who are full of potential."

At the walkout at Wadler's school, organized by her and her fellow classmates, the students held a lie-in on school grounds.

"For far too long, these names, these black girls and women, have been just numbers, I'm here to say never again for those girls too," she said.

"People have said that I am too young to have these thoughts on my own," Wadler said. "People have said that I am a tool of some nameless adult.

"It's not true."

Wadler wasn't the only young girl at the rally. Yolanda King, the 9-year-old granddaughter of Martin Luther King, made a surprise appearance on the stage and addressed the crowd.

"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," King said. "I have a dream that enough is enough."

Wadler's presence at the march and her poised and inspiring speech electrified the crowd and others watching.

You can watch Wadler's full speech below:

Saturday's rally in Washington D.C. comes in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Students and protesters at the march are there to demand and end to gun violence in American schools and communities. Along with the D.C. march, protesters gathered in cities and communities across the U.S. with the same message for change.

Photo: Eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler addresses the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including students, teachers and parents gathered in Washington for the anti-gun violence rally organized by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14 that left 17 dead. More than 800 related events are taking place around the world to call for legislative action to address school safety and gun violence. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images