“We are the children, the mighty mighty children. Here to tell you, Black lives matter!” hundreds of children chanted as they marched down sidewalks in Kirkwood, MO with their parents on Saturday, according to cnn.com.
Nolan Davis, 8, decided to organize the Black Lives Matter march for children in his hometown after attending a few other protests in the area with his mother Kristin Davis.
To quote cnn.com:
“Right after that, he asked me if he could have his own march so that he could let other people’s voices be heard,” his mother, Kristin Davis, told CNN.
So the two created a flyer for their “Children’s Black Lives Matter March” and shared it to Facebook, asking families to meet at Kirkwood Park.
“We thought that maybe 50 people would be there,” Nolan Davis said. “But there were like 700 people.”
Children of different races covered the sidewalks in chalk with phrases such as “Stop Racism” and “Be Kind to Everyone.” They marched with posters in their hands that read among other things “Black Children’s Futures Matter.”
Nolan Davis led the way with his poster that read, “Kids can make a change.”
Despite being a child in elementary school, Nolan Davis has already been taught the ways he needs to act differently in society compared to his White friends, such as playing with water guns only in the backyard “because you don’t want it to get mistaken for something else” or keeping the hood of his hoodie down, according to Kristin Davis.
As his White, adoptive mother, Kristin Davis acknowledged that she would never understand the fear that her Black son and daughter, five-year-old Caroline, would feel as they grow up. But she said she knew these talks were necessary to keep them safe.
“We’re preparing them for when they’re older and taller and bigger. When they’re not going to be perceived as cute little kids anymore,” she said.
Nolan Davis doesn’t like that there are different rules in society based on one’s skin color, which is why he organized the march.
He’s hoping he’ll inspire other children to use their voices and coe together to do the same.