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Charlotte will march to end gun violence on Sunday, June 12.
What’s happening: More than 300 March for Our Lives marches are scheduled this weekend across the country, including 11 in North Carolina in response to recent mass shootings across the nation.
- While most of the marches across the country will take place Saturday, the leaders of the Charlotte event moved their event to Sunday due to personal conflicts.
- Winston-Salem and Salisbury are also holding their marches on Sunday.
Context: March for Our Lives is a student-led organization advocating to end gun violence. It emerged in 2018 after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Details: March for Our Lives district lead Lora Henley tells Axios the march route is still being worked out, but the plan is to start at First Ward Park, march up 7th Street toward Church Street and back toward the park.
- The event is from 11am until 2pm.
- Speakers will include U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, state Sen. Jeff Jackson, Kendrick Cunningham, who ran for Charlotte City Council District 2 in the May primary and Christy Clark, who is running for N.C. House District 98, along with teachers and fellow advocates.
Plus, there’ll be a station where people can write letters to their congressional representatives to demand action against gun violence, and they’ll be able to register to vote if they’re eligible and haven’t already registered.
- There will also be a separate DIY station, where people can make posters to march with if they don’t bring their own.
Zoom out: Henley, who is a rising senior at Myers Park High School and an after-school counselor at the Harris YMCA, became district lead last fall.
- She said the Charlotte March for Our Lives chapter has around 90 members, and they’ve been focusing on voter registration.
- If you’re interested in volunteering with the local chapter, Henley suggests direct messaging them on Instagram.
What’s next: Henley tells Axios they want to focus on working with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board next school year.
The big picture: CMS’ last day of school was Wednesday, June 8, and during those three days, two guns were found on CMS property. Thirty guns total were found on CMS property this school year.
The bottom line: CMS, and the nation as a whole, have a gun problem.
