8-year-old boy organizes Black Lives Matter protest for children: 'Kids can make a change in the world'
Nolan Davis, 8, and his mother, Kristin, have been attending Black Lives Matter marches in their Missouri community to support the movement and to add their voices to the cause. At the end of a demonstration the mother and son attended in Lindbergh, Mo., on June 13, organizers asked for protesters to speak to the crowd. The eight-year-old jumped at the chance.
“Stop hurting Black people!” the boy said at the event.
Standing in front of protesters and speaking his mind prompted Nolan to ask his mom if he could plan a children’s Black Lives Matter march. Kristin was on board.
“It wasn’t something we approached him about,” she tells Yahoo Life. “It was definitely him saying he wanted to do this.”
Together, Nolan and his mother made plans to hold a children’s march in his hometown of Kirkwood, Missouri.
At first, Nolan and Kristin thought that the protest might attract around 50 people. Kristin helped her son make flyers and spread the word about the June 27 march on Facebook and around the Kirkwood community. On the day of the march, Nolan arrived at Kirkwood Park to greet a crowd of 700 people, many of whom were children, who came out to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
The protesters included children of all races and backgrounds. Kids used chalk to write messages on the sidewalk that read “Be Kind to Everyone,” and “Stop Racism.” Participants held signs high that read “Black Children’s Futures Matter.”
“I wanted to have this march because Black Lives Matter is important to me,” Nolan told the crowd at the event. “I’m worried about Black people like me getting hurt.”
When asked about the impact of her son’s protest, Kristin says she hopes the effort “changes a few hearts and a few minds.” While she recognizes that the movement requires time as it’s addressing a “problem that’s been going on for thousands of years,” still “the initial crowds were amazing.”
While change may not come immediately, Nolan and the children he inspired show that younger generations have something to say about the status quo.
The boy’s work is only just beginning. He says he’s continuing to attend protests, use his voice to change minds and to call more people to support the cause.
When asked what children can do to help, Nolan didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Keep protesting and using your voice,” he says.
Kristin could not be more proud of her son’s activism, and he has her full support.
“Kids can make a change in the world,” he says. “It’s so important to everyone.”
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