t begins with a feeling, oftentimes the result of something happening around you. From there, it grows into a belief and where it leads from there can be anywhere from down the street to crossing oceans. Kennedy Dixon, 18, has that feeling and it quickly grew into a belief that it was time to take action.
Dixon, a student at EMU, will take her first steps on Saturday, March 24 in Ann Arbor. She hopes her walk along the path of social justice leads to Washington, DC and more importantly change that will help lead to a safer home for her and her family, friends and neighbors.
“We’re doing this for the lives lost in Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Bernardino, Newtown and the list goes on and on,” says Dixon. “We’re marching in hopes this won’t keep happening, #NeverAgain. We’re marching for common sense gun control. We’re Marching For Our Lives.”
Dixon, a member of the Omega Phi Alpha sorority at EMU, says the goal of the march is to “make our voices and opinions known and heard as well as to encourage young people to be politically active and to fight for what they believe in.”
And she will be bringing along some friends on Saturday.
“My sorority as is a huge part of my life and service for the community,” said Dixon, who is one of the organizers along with Celeste Kanpurwala, with Moms Demand Action For Gun Safety in America.
The event begins at 11 a.m. and the walk will go around Pioneer HS, heading down 7th Street to Stadium to Main Street and back into the high school parking lot. There will be a number of speeches starting at 11:30 a.m. and the walk will begin around 12:30 p.m. with a closing speech at 1:30. Limited parking will be available at the high school but car-pooling is encouraged.
“This is my first big venture into social justice but I’ve always been politically active and vocal,” she said. “I’m passionate about so many things and I really just want to see change in the world. I like to make my voice heard and I also like to do things for the community so I thought organizing this march would be a great way to do both of those things given the momentum surrounding this topic right now.
“I’ve always felt strongly about gun violence.”
Dixon says she feels pain for people she has never met and considering she recently graduated high school, the recent shootings in Florida really “hit close to home.”
“It made me realize it could have been me at my school mourning my friends just as easy as it was the students at Parkland,” she said. “And it shouldn’t be that way. This event means a lot to me because I’m hoping I can really spread the message and keep the momentum going. These events are largely student led and it feels amazing to know there’s so many people in my generation that understand what’s the right thing to do. We need to keep everybody motivated and remind them that it doesn’t end here.”
For more information, log onto: https://www.facebook.com/events/152530575391766/
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