11-Year-Old Naomi Wadler Gave One of the Most Powerful Speeches at the March For Our Lives

Krystin Arneson
Updated
Naomi Wadler, 11 years old and already an activist, gave a powerful speech at the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C., saying, "I am here to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper."

With a roster of appearances that included speeches by Parkland survivors like Emma Gonzalez and performances by Miley Cyrus, the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. was packed with inspiration moments. But 11-year-old Naomi Wadler ended up giving one of the day's most memorable speeches: a moving tribute to "African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper."

The main rally, which was expected to draw half a million people, was held in Washington, D.C., while more than 800 sister demonstrations and events took place around the world in cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, London, and Berlin. If you don't quite recognize Wadler's name, she's not a Parkland student; she's not a politician; and she's not one of the event's organizers. She's a student who led a walkout at her Alexandria, Virginia elementary school. And we should all listen up, because what she had to say is incredibly powerful.

“Me and my friend Carter led a walkout at our elementary school on the 14th," she told the crowd, referring to the National School Walkout that took place a month after the Parkland shooting. "We walked out for 18 minutes, adding a minute to honor Courtlin Arrington, an African-American girl who was the victim of gun violence at her school in Alabama after the Parkland shooting.”

“I am here today to represent Courtlin Arrington," she said. "I am here today to represent Hadiya Pendleton. I am here today to represent Taiyania Thompson, who at just 16 was shot dead at her home here in Washington, D.C. I am here to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don’t lead on the evening news.”

"I represent the African-American women who are victims of gun violence, who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls full of potential," Wadler continued. "For far too long, these black girls and women have been just numbers. I am here to say #NeverAgain for those girls too."

Watch her full speech here:

"People have said that I am too young to have these thoughts on my own," Wadler said—no doubt a reference to the backlash against student activists across the country. (Critics have described the Parkland student activists as "crisis actors," for example.) "People have said I am a tool of some nameless adult. It's not true. My friends and I might still be 11, and we might still be in elementary school, but we know. We know life isn't equal for everyone and we know what is right and wrong. We also know that we stand in the shadow of the Capitol, and we know that we have seven short years until we too have the right to vote."

She concluded her speech by quoting Toni Morrison: "'If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it.' I urge everyone here and everyone who hears my voice to join me in telling the stories that aren’t told, to honor the girls, the women of color who are murdered at disproportionate rates in this nation. I urge each of you to help me write the narrative for this world and understand so that there girls and women are never forgotten. Thank you.”

Twitter, understandably, is about ready to vote her into office:

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