History in the Making: Gainesville’s #MarchForOurLives

Saturday afternoon, hundreds of Gainesville residents and University of Florida students poured into Bo Diddley Plaza in Downtown Gainesville ready to march the streets of this vibrant town in support of the nationwide #MarchForOurLives movement.

UF freshman, Heather Ressler, (almost) single-handedly planned the Gainesville march. With the intent of invoking change and making a nation’s cries heard, Ressler lined up speakers, designed t-shirts and set up an itinerary for the day.

Alongside a huge cardboard sign reading “NO MORE BLOOD!” in red paint, speakers from all walks of life took to the Bo Diddley stage to tell their stories. One Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior traveled up from South Florida for the march.

With one trembling hand gripping her script and the other gripping the microphone, she told us the story of how she lost her best friend. The crowd, in awe of her speech, cheered louder with every word spoken.

After the speeches, hundreds of attendees gathered, with signs in hand, to march down University Avenue. The path of the march went through residential areas, where we found several Gainesville residents standing in their front yards cheering on the marchers. One woman stood wearing her “Moms demand action” shirt while rocking her infant in his stroller.

The march intentionally took paths visible to traffic where drivers would honk in support or roll down their windows to cheer, which was, no-doubt, a morale booster. A family and their dog stood street-side, passing out bottled waters to marchers.

The children of the group were some of the most enthusiastic marchers; if there was a chant, they didn’t miss a beat. Kids aged 5 through 10 were carrying signs and chanting loudly and proudly. Ages varied widely among the marchers. Children, teenagers, middle-aged adults and the elderly all showed up and showed out to call for an end to gun violence.

“50 years later and I can still march,” I heard a woman say as we ended our walk.

One of UF’s student organizations, Divest UF, played a huge role in the execution of this march. While holding their giant sign, two gentlemen chanted “no more silence, end gun violence!” and voices echoed back through the streets of Gainesville.

Passionate young people all over the nation and world are calling for change after the Stoneman Douglas shooting. After witnessing another horrific tragedy so close to home, the community of Gainesville joined the movement, rallying for change and chanting #NEVERAGAIN.

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