Do Marches Make A Difference?.....


Yesterday, marches were held all across the country to demonstrate solidarity against gun violence. Called the "March for Our Lives", it was organized, and led by high school students. The plague of school shootings across the country, especially the one in Parkland, Florida seems to have struck a nerve. There were marches yesterday in a number of cities, with over 800,000 people participating at the one in Washington, D.C.

March for Our Lives in Washington.
The crowds were impressive. The speakers were impressive. But will the marches be effective? So far we know it was a good civics lesson for the young adults involved. Here is what we know: 1. No one is in favor of school shootings. 2. Almost no one in charge knows what to do about it.

The marches are over now. Everybody went home. Only time will tell how effective this march was. After most marches or demonstrations, nothing happens. Let's take a look at some historic marches that made a difference.




  • August 28, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Over 250,000 people of all races and creeds gathered to notify America that it was time for equal rights for all. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech there on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
     Initial Impact: Served notice that a large portion of America wanted change. Maybe not Selma, Al.

     Long Term Impact: Historic. Civil Rights Act enacted July 2, 1964
I Have a Dream - Washington 1964


  • March 7, 1965 Bloody Sunday - Selma, Alabama: The genesis of this was a voting rights protest in Selma, Alabama that led to the killing of a young man that was trying to protect his mother. To protest this, civil rights organizers planned a march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. The peaceful march was met by the Alabama state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, who gassed and beat them.
     Initial Impact: Little. Unless you were beaten, There were not thousands of people.
     Long Term Impact: Historic change
Bloody Sunday - Selma, Alabama


  • May 1-3, 1971 May Day Vietnam War Protest: Over 100,000 mostly young adults gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the Vietnam War. Some say their goal was to shut down the government. This protest was re-enacted in the movie Forrest Gump. Polls had shown that support for the war had dipped below 50% nationwide. A year earlier, students at Kent State University were killed by Ohio National guard during a protest.
     Initial Impact: Nationally was seen as just hippies blowing off steam.
     Long Term Impact: Vietnam War ended in 1973. About 58,000 American kids never got a chance to grow up.
War protesters cooling off.


So will the March for Our Lives make a difference?
Initial Impact: Former GOP Senator Rick Santorum says the kids should just take CPR classes.
Long Term Impact: Maybe when those kids are old enough to vote.
Representative John Lewis still bears the scars from the Edmund Pettus Bridge.


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