March For Our Lives, the nationwide event organized by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the horrific shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead, is set to take place on Saturday, March 24.
In the days and months leading up to the event, millions of Americans have poured their support, both financial and emotional, behind the brave teenagers who are demanding that legislators pass stricter, more comprehensive gun laws to prevent future mass shootings. One of those encouraging voices belongs to George Clooney, who, in addition to donating $500,000 to the movement, recently penned a letter to students expressing his admiration. His thoughtful words were published in The Guardian, which allowed three student journalists from MSD High School — Emma Dowd, Lauren Newman, and Schneid — to help cover the march.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"Amal and I are 100% behind you and will be marching in DC on the 24th, but we both feel very strongly that this is your march. Your moment," he wrote. "Young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool. The fact that no adults will speak on the stage in DC is a powerful message to the world that if we can't do something about gun violence then you will."
Clooney declined an interview with the young journalists — Senators Bernie Sanders and Marco Rubio accepted — because he felt the movement should be focused primarily on students.
"The issue is going to be this, anyone you ask would feel proud to be interviewed by you, but it's so much more effective if it's young people," he explained. "You could talk to a dozen kids like the young kids from Chicago and LA that Emma [Gonzalez] met with. You could take over the Guardian and make it tell the stories of children by children. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to point to this moment and say it belongs to you."
He concluded the letter by saying the students "make me proud of my country again."
The Clooneys have ramped up their activism in recent years, from pushing for gun control to advocating for refugees — they even welcomed one man into their home and helped pay for his college education. Because celebrities seem to live in a different universe, it can be easy to forget that they, too, feel connected to the world around them and yearn to give back to make the world a better place for future generations.