Norfolk saw its largest organized protest with close to 3,000 attendants marching for the March for Our Lives cause, March 24, according to Norfolk police. The protest represented the indisputable power and conviction students and this generation can create when faced with the opposition of a silent and unresponsive government.

The event was centered around the voices of students. Student speakers revealed their personal experiences with gun violence, becoming a shocking awakening to anyone in attendance in realizing that teenagers who should be concerned about school and their youth are instead plagued with the fear of losing friends or themselves to a gun.

In addition, students were the first allowed to begin the march, furthering the concept that this protest is based on the youth. It is student power that will bring change to this country, as it has done countless times in past decades, from protesting the Vietnam War to fighting for civil rights.

If we never forget what happened in Parkland, Sandy Hook, or Virginia Tech and insist on facing Congress head-on, history has a remarkable opportunity improve our society for the better.

Yet even though the  March for Our Lives has inspired so many, other significant movements cannot be forgotten either. The Black Lives Matter movement also marched and protested to increase gun control in response to the severe police brutality faced by black Americans. It is hypocritical for us to blatantly ignore one movement while celebrating another. When there are powerful marches against gun violence in schools, there should also be equally powerful marches against gun violence perpetrated by the police force upon minorities.

What must be taken away from all of this is that if the country feels empowered by the action and bravery of the March for Our Lives movement, communities have to stand up for the need to end police brutality and protect all students from violence in as well as out of schools. For some, the threat of gun violence can only be found in the halls of school, but for others, that same fear extends to their regular lives. All people no matter age, race, religion, or sexuality should feel safe, and it is up to us to remind our government and the people of that seemingly simple idea.