It’s hard to fathom that it’s been five years since that terrible day in Parkland, Florida. On the one hand, it feels so much more recent than that, like I’ve only just turned on the news and felt that horror and grief wash over me. On the other hand, it feels like a lifetime ago.
So much has changed since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – but not enough. This morning as I read the heartfelt remembrances of those killed in Parkland five years ago, I was also hit with waves of news about last night’s mass shooting at Michigan State University.
3 dead, 5 in critical condition. Some of the students at MSU lived through the Oxford High School shooting less than two years ago. This American epidemic of gun violence is relentless and leaves so much ruin in its wake.
Today we remember the 17 lives stolen at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We remember their names and we recommit ourselves to honoring their memory with action:
Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang
Our hearts are also with the community of Parkland on this difficult day, and with all of the family and friends left to bear the burden of these absences.
In the last five years, I’ve met so many courageous and inspiring survivors from Parkland – people I am proud to call colleagues and even friends. Folks like Manuel & Patricia Oliver, Fred Guttenberg, David Hogg, X González, and so many others have channeled their pain into meaningful activism and given tremendous strength to all of us in this movement. While I abhor the circumstances that brought them to this work, the nation would be poorer without their voices.
In solidarity,
Igor Volsky
Executive Director
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