CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than 500,000 people are expected to take part in March For Our Lives rallies across the nation Saturday.
The movement, which was inspired by the Florida students who fought for their lives during a school shooting in February, is out to end gun violence, particularly in American schools.
There are over 800 events planned worldwide, including a scheduled rally in uptown Charlotte. The event will start at First Ward Park at 11 a.m. The event will have several speakers, including two former Sandy Hook Elementary students who were inside the school when gunfire erupted in 2012.
The Charlotte event’s timing comes just days after threats against multiple schools in the area.
“It kind of hit home that this could actually happen in my own backyard,” said one student organizer.
“I thought if I had a voice, then I need to use,” said Hough High student Jessica Clark, who also organized the school’s National Walkout Day protest.
Clark said they’re expected at least 7,000 people at Saturday’s demonstration, with students coming from schools all over the Carolinas. She explained that Charlotte city leaders have been instrumental in helping the students organize the event.
“They’ve been awesome to work with,” Clark said. “They’ve been very helpful and they’re really open to us using Charlotte as a platform to raise our voices.”
Other marches in the area include Rock Hill, Mooresville and Hickory.