Gun Violence Will Be Stopped By These 9 Young Activists
Teen Vogue invited gun violence survivors and gun control activists to talk about the power of the next generation: young people who are working to end mass shootings and ensure student safety once and for all. Clifton Kinnie of Ferguson, Missouri; Nick Joseph, Emma González, Jaclyn Corin, and Sarah Chadwick of Parkland, Florida; Jazmine Wildcat of Riverton, Wyoming; Kenidra Woods of St. Louis; Nza-Ari Khepra of Chicago, Illinois; and Natalie Barden of Newtown, Connecticut — youth from different backgrounds with different connections to the issue — to speak candidly about their experiences and what’s to come.
Tyler Mitchell1/10Kenidra Woods, 17
Kenidra has been a longtime advocate for mental health among teens and takes pride in her bold personality. “I command your attention,” the high school junior tells Teen Vogue. In February, after the Parkland shooting, she participated in a walkout with at least 50 classmates in St. Louis, Missouri, and their story went viral after school administrators barred them from returning to school. She’s since become one of the most vocal teen activists in the nationwide fight against gun violence, advocating for the needs of students in her community.
“Look, I’m demanding. I didn’t expect it — I was speaking out for myself, but most importantly for my peers that don’t feel like their voices are being heard,” Kenidra says.
Tyler Mitchell2/10Emma González, 18
High school senior Emma has become perhaps one of the most visible faces of the #NeverAgain movement after she called out lawmakers and the National Rifle Association at a press conference just days after 17 students were killed at her school in Parkland, Florida, in February. Much attention has been given Emma’s platform and the work she’s doing with her fellow students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas in the face of tragedy. But she’s also been the target of much hate since coming to national prominence — in fact, in March, a politician running for Congress in Maine called her a "lesbian skinhead." Emma’s response? "I'm not going to even address the fact that he said it in the first place,” she tells Teen Vogue, “other than what I said last night, which is, ‘Skinheads are bad and lesbians are good.’”
Tyler Mitchell3/10Jazmine Wildcat, 14
“I gotta admit, my résumé is pretty long,” Jazmine tells Teen Vogue. She is a percussionist in the Wyoming all-state marching band, a swimmer, a soccer player, a Science Olympiad member, a volunteer with the Special Olympics, a Gen-I Ambassador with the Center for Native American Youth, an earth ambassador with the United National Indian Tribal Youth, and, most recently, an activist who is appealing to lawmakers for sensible gun laws to protect young people from violence.
Her family are members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and own guns, as do most people in Riverton, Wyoming, the rural, conservative community where they live. By writing letters to lawmakers and calling for change around gun laws, Jazmine has been going against the grain and has already faced opposition from those who disagree. “I have my work cut out for me,” she says. “Just [demanding] what anyone else would want when fighting for what they believe in: change for the best. We cannot just sit here and wait for the next violent event to happen.”
Tyler Mitchell4/10Nza-Ari Khepra, 21
Chicago is where Nza-Ari was born and raised, and where she lost her 15-year-old friend Hadiya Pendleton to gun violence in 2013. “She was basically trying to get cover from the rain with a couple of her other friends about five minutes away from our high school,” she tells Teen Vogue. Nza-Ari helped found Project Orange Tree just after that tragedy in hopes of promoting peace and raising awareness on the issue and eventually helped launch the Wear Orange Campaign, a collaboration with Everytown for Gun Safety.
“There are a lot of different identities that intersect with gun violence and gun violence prevention,” says Nza-Ari, who is now 21 years old and a student at Columbia University in New York City. “We're in a moment of liberation, especially with just coming to terms with all of our different identities and finding ways that we can embrace them, especially within this movement alone.”
Tyler Mitchell5/10Clifton Kinnie, 21
Clifton was a student at Lutheran High School North in Ferguson, Missouri, and mourning the death of his mother in 2014 when 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. Brown’s death sparked a movement that loudly declared that black lives matter, and Clifton spent his school days mobilizing fellow teenagers to stand up for themselves and their community in the face of violence. He organized Our Destiny STL, connecting 30 schools in the area to help register young voters and conduct a mass walkout. “I felt like I was out there fighting for my little brother,” Clifton, now a junior at Howard University, tells Teen Vogue. “And whether it’s Mike Brown or 17 kids [in Parkland] or those children in Sandy Hook, what does it take? What is it gonna take for them to listen to us?”
“I am unapologetic about the way I’m gonna fight for change. I’m always gonna be unapologetic. Because no one’s apologized to us for the countless murders, for the countless deaths.”
Tyler Mitchell6/10Sarah Chadwick, 17
The shooting that Sarah survived, in Parkland, Florida, has inspired a new generation of teen activists, and Sarah is one of the most vocal. Prior to this moment, she was already engaged with social justice issues, telling us, “I've been an advocate for a lot of things like gun control, and I'm pro-choice, and I fight for LGBTQ+ rights.”
She’s been speaking out since the #NeverAgain movement started, helping plan the March for Our Lives, and is already confident that young people are making an impact. “The reality is that our generation is the next voting generation,” she tells Teen Vogue. “We're kind of activating this impact that's about to just explode in the old politicians' faces.”
Tyler Mitchell7/10Natalie Barden, 16
Natalie is a sophomore student athlete — a swimmer — and member of Newtown, Connecticut’s Junior Newtown Action Alliance, a group that works to bring awareness to the issue of gun violence by contacting legislators and holding vigils. She lost her seven-year-old brother, Daniel, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, and her life changed forever after her family was thrust into the spotlight. She told us, “If you have a heart, you don’t want this to happen to other people.”
After Parkland, she was compelled to speak out alongside other students to Teen Vogue because, she says, “If things keep going as they are, some people might not make it to 18. So we have to use our voices while we can.”
Tyler Mitchell8/10Jaclyn Corin, 17
Jaclyn is junior class president and one of many who lost a friend during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14. She mobilized immediately afterward, planning a trip to Tallahassee for around 100 students so they could meet lawmakers days after the massacre and talk about the need for gun control. She hasn’t been quiet since, speaking out passionately about what must happen next.
But despite the difficulty of this moment, she has hope. “When I see little elementary schoolers or middle schoolers walking out with us, those visual images, and their faces and their true want for change at such a young age, I wasn't like that,” she tells Teen Vogue. “So that's what gives me hope.”
Tyler Mitchell9/10Nick Joseph, 16
Nick Joseph of Parkland, Florida, lost 17 of his peers and faculty to gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, including his best friend, Joaquin Oliver. On that day, after lunch, Nick walked Joaquin to the door of the classroom where he would die. They hugged, said “I love you,” then parted ways before a gunman opened fire during the last period of the school day.
The tragic events have mobilized him to work to change gun laws. “I understand your condolences, but the condolences aren't gonna really help until there's actually a change,” he says. “Those people that are in office, they can't relate to what we're going through. If [lawmakers] are against us, then we’re gonna get them out of there.”
Tyler Mitchell10/10This story is a part of Teen Vogue’s ongoing coverage on gun violence and the growing movement for gun control. Be sure to check out our cover feature written by Emma González.