South Los Angeles students are joining the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, a march organized as a response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that left 17 students dead.
Edna Chavez, a 17 year-old student and activist, will speak to a national audience about gun violence and the students' demands. Chavez and four more students departed en route to Washington from the Community Coalition center in South Los Angeles, a charity organization that advocates for social justice.
"I feel excited, I feel nervous because this is a huge topic and something that has impacted me personally," said Chavez. "It's something that's talked about but nothing is really being done so I'm here to demand, we're here to demand."
Marches will be taking place Saturday around the nation including in cities like Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and others. March for Our Lives in Los Angeles will begin at 9 a.m.
The students aren't traveling alone. Melvia Martinez, Chavez's mother, is accompanying her daughter and said she is proud of her and the rest of the youth who are marching in Washington.
Chavez, who is an aspiring nurse practitioner, has been a victim of gun violence herself and has also lost loved ones for the same reason.
"This (March for Our Lives) is student led, when have we seen an actual national movement being led by students?" she said, "That alone should make a huge impact, a huge change and if it doesn't, that alone says a lot about our nation."
