MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Anwar Taylor said two of his cousins were killed in shootings. It's a pain that he has learned to live with, but that is now propelling him to join the Never Again movement.
Anwar was among the African-American teenagers who responded to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's students call for action in Miami Gardens Thursday night.
Anwar said he agrees with Brandon Dasent, a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, and he believes the community needs to do more.
"We need people in office who share the same values as us that actually care about our lives," Dasent said.
Unable to vote, Anwar wants the community to join their effort and do what they can to keep teenagers safe. Rep. Frederica Wilson said she was on the side of the young advocates pushing for Town Hall For Our Lives events nationwide.
The students want comprehensive background checks, an ATF searchable database, funds for research on gun violence, a ban on high-capacity magazines and an assault weapons ban. .
Many teens in Miami Gardens are familiar with activism. They joined the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and after the March for Our Lives event they are joining the Never Again movement, which aims to end the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States.
Dasent felt motivated by the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., after the 50th anniversary of his murder in Memphis. He said the civil rights icon's activism was also motivating MSD survivors Emma Gonzalez, Tyah-Amoy Roberts and Aalayah Eastmond.
King's 9-year-old granddaughter, Yolanda Renne King, stepped into the limelight when she participated in the March 24th event in Washington, D.C, and appeared on ABC's Good Morning America Wednesday.
"I think that he would be impressed about all of the work that we are doing, but we are not where we are supposed to be," she said.
Wilson said that she will continue to organize more town halls in Miami-Dade. MSD students were working with the Town Hall Project to help organizers coordinate efforts nationwide. They were also asking students to wear orange April 20 on the anniversary of the Columbine tragedy.
"This was the first of a series of events that I am going to host, because gun violence is so important and so pervasive that we can't address all the issues that lead to it or find solutions to end it in one meeting," Wilson tweeted. "This conversation will continue."
