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Held at Temple Enumah on the 8th of April, the Lexington Gun Violence panel featured speakers discussing recent gun politics and legislative action. Co-hosted by Follen Church, the panel discussion featured Attorney General Maura Healey, Chaplain Clementina Chéry, founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, activist My’Kel McMillen and Lexington High School sophomore Emily Weinberg.  Spending a large part of the discussion on the impact of gun violence on communities, specifically minority communities, as well as the true effect of student walkouts and nation wide marches on legislative change, the panel touched on resounding issues. Attorney General Healey made sure to point out, to a room of potential voters, that legislative change could only take place once protests were coupled with pragmatic action, such as phoning government representatives and lobbying bills and reform acts.

Similarly, discussion turned to the correlation between strict gun laws, such as those of Massachusetts, and a decrease in gun violence. Keeping with the effects of legislative change in correlation to geography, Chaplain Chéry brought up the disproportionate effect on gun violence on low income neighborhoods, and how taking this into account was key to solving for the root cause. Calling it “a cultural transformation,” they elaborated on how a recognition of racial justice falls hand in hand with getting military grade weapons off the streets. Furthermore, the idea of fiscal support from federal, combined with local resources and nonprofits was key to aiding victims of gun violence, specifically those who faced it on a daily basis (ie: students in majority- black, latinx communities) was a point made. Student activists, including Emily Rosenthal, a student at Clarke and member of Lexington Says Enough, questioned how younger children would be able to get involved. My’Kel McMillen suggested that younger students could be involved by making the process “fun”; starting book clubs, and interacting with them in such a way that it would not overwhelm them. Devesh Pathak, a sophomore at the high school, asked how to involve those with a different interpretation of the 2nd amendment in the conversation. Attorney General Healey responded by saying that protections for public health are not a “zero sum game” or mutually exclusive with the second amendment. Incorporating gun owners into the conversation is key to bipartisan legislative action.  The panel discussion ended with closing remarks by the participants, and a round of applause for student activists. 

This event was covered by various media outlets:

Wicked Local

Bedford Citizen

Minuteman Muster

Please join us for

Candlelight vigil for Santa Fe victims.

When:

8 PM on Sunday 5/20

Where:

Sidewalk by Captain Parker, Battle Greens, Lexington.

RSVP here

We will not be complacent. We will act. We will coordinate. #enough

“Every day that we fail to act on gun violence, we are failing our children. This should be a day for soul searching across America — and that soul searching should be matched with legislating to begin dealing with this national shame.”

– Hillary Clinton

Please plan on attending the forum on “Gun violence Prevention”. This event is free and open to public.

RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1788258821481732/

Dear Bus Riders,

Thank you for joining us for the March For Our Lives! Here is an update on the plans for the bus. Over the weekend, the March organizers changed the start time. It is now a 2 mile March, starting at the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and going to the Common. We are planning to leave Lexington High School (Worthen Street side) at 8:30 am. We will board the bus at 3 pm, at the corner of Charles and Beacon. It is a long day, and we thought it best to leave at 3 rather than the suggested 4:30-5 pm. The buses may not be able to leave at 3 pm due to the crowds, but I’m sure that we will be happy to have a warm place to sit while we wait to leave. We will have water and some snacks on the bus for our return (please no nuts on the bus). Dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes! It is going to be 41 and overcast, so I think it will be manageable.

Schedule:
· March gathering 9-10 am
· March starts at 11 am
· Common opens at 12 pm
· Official Rally starts at 2 pm

Do bring: snacks, medicine, water, power bank, cash, and id

Do not bring: large backpack, signs on sticks, masks, pets, alcohol, clothing/signs with hate speech, lighters

We ask you all to review this informational packet from the organizers that covers what to bring, what not to bring, what we will be doing and actions you can take beyond the March.

https://www.marchforourlivesboston.com/march-details

We will be sorting you into 2 buses. We will keep all groups together and will try and put people together with your friends. Look for an email tomorrow with your bus assignments and contact information for your bus captains.

On the day of the march, we will check you into the bus before we depart. We need the group leads to stay with their groups since we don’t have contact info for you all. We will give you a handout with the bus route, the bus captains names and phone numbers and our meeting spots. I will set up a groupme group text for us, and you will get a message the night before the march.

If for some reason you decide not to come back to the bus, please try and text your captain (your phone will probably work at the beginning and the end of the day when the crowds are thinner—remember that when you don’t have signal you battery will go fast, consider putting it on airplane mode for a period).

Thank you,

Teresa, Devesh, Ragini, Jessie
#Lexingtonsaysenough

Lexington high school, Diamond Middle school, and Clarke middle school participated in a walk-out last week.  1000+ LHS students joined the march. Roughly 700 students at Diamond and 150 students at Clarke Middle schools participated in the walk-out. Students wore orange and wore orange crocheted flowers and awareness ribbons Students demanded action for safer schools, community, and neighborhoods.

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Various media outlets covered the walk-outs. Here are some of the links.

Minuteman – LHS Walkout

Minuteman – Diamond walkout

Minuteman – Clarke middleschool

Lexington Musket coverage of the LHS walk-out

Lexington High School

When: Thursday, March 15

Where: Football Field

Walkout timeframe: 9:50 AM to 10:45 AM

9:50 AM: Walkout of classroom

10 AM: Assemble at Football field. If it is not clean, we walk to Worthen Rd.

10:35 AM: Walk out ends, start walking back to classroom

10:45 AM: Back in classroom for attendance

Clarke Middle School

When: Thursday, March 15

Where: Front Courtyard

Walkout timeframe: 9:50 AM to 10:45 AM

9:50 AM: Walkout of classroom

10 AM: Assemble at Front Entryway

10:35 AM: Walk out ends, start walking back to classroom

10:45 AM: Back in classroom for attendance

William Diamond Middle School

When: Friday, March 16

Where: Front Courtyard

Walkout timeframe: 9:50 AM to 10:45 AM

9:50 AM: Walkout of classroom

10 AM: Assemble at Front Courtyard

10:35 AM: Walk out ends, start walking back to classroom

10:45 AM: Back in classroom for attendance

Episcopal City Mission is providing a 55 passenger bus and driver to transport people to Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Our Lives on Saturday, Mar 24. 

The bus will depart Lexington, MA (pick-up location TBD) at 9AM on Friday, Mar 23 and depart from Washington at 5PM on Mar 24. Sign-up is first come-first served via March for Our Lives DC Rally – Episcopal City Mission Bus Registration  The per person cost to Episcopal City Mission (ECM) to provide this service is $150/person. 

ECM’s goal is to fill the bus.  ECM is asking people to pay as they are able to defray the cost of the bus but no one who wants to participate will be turned away because they cannot contribute.  Sleeping accommodations and meals will be provided free of charge by St. John’s Church, Georgetown.  Participants should bring sleeping bags, pillows, and mats, toiletries and comfort items.

Are you ready to “March for our Lives” in Boston?

Do you have your tickets?

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Emily Weinberg, LHS sophomore participated in a roundtable hosted by WBUR. Check it out.

What have we been up to? Here is a short list:

• Interviewing with local media outlets – WBUR (yay!!) and Lex media
• Planning for the walkout on March 14th.
• Planning buses for Boston and Washington DC.
• Making posters.
• Crafting giveaways for our marchers.
• Working on our website.
• Working on social media campaigns.
• Sending email campaigns.
• Meeting school administration.
• Planning community panels with Follen gun prevention group

We need funds to support following:
1. On March 24, 2018, Lexington students and citizens will travel to DC and Boston to join with “March For Our Lives” event, to raise their collective voices to join in the movement to end gun violence. The cost for transportation and lodging for these people is about $125 per person for DC and $25 for Boston. Not everyone can afford to pay this amount. We want to help students and their chaperones with a scholarship so that they can join the march.

2. We have built a website and need funds to pay for domain and WordPress subscription.

3. Contribute the left over to “March for Our Lives Boston”.

We have set a goal of $5000 dollars, which will fund the above much-needed items. 

We are hopeful that the community will step up and assist our students in making it to this protest.

Gun Violence Prevention — Action, Truth and Reconciliation
When: April 8, 3:00-4:30pm,
Where:Temple Emunah, 9 Piper Rd, Lexington, MA 02421

Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by: Follen Church Gun Violence Prevention Committee
Co-sponsored by #LexingtonSaysEnough

This inclusive forum on gun safety and healing will inform us about existing gun safety laws, highlight the work of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Roxbury/Dorchester, and the work of student activists.

Panelists will include:

* Attorney General Maura Healey, who will describe existing Massachusetts and Federal gun safety laws.

* Chaplain Clementina Chéry, President of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, where the focus is on ongoing gun violence prevention, peace promotion, and support and healing for families of victims of gun violence; the Peace Institute’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace is an annual march through Boston draws upwards of 20,000 people.

*Emily Weinberg, LHS student March 14th Walkout organizer, with 300 members.

*A youth activist who works with the Peace Institute.

Contact:
Anne Grady
Chair, Follen Church Gun Violence Prevention Group
anneandrusgrady@gmail.com
781 862-8977

Are you ready to march with fellow students and families to Boston on March 24th? Tickets are now on sale. We are planning to rent 4 buses and we will travel together to Boston and raise our collective voices. Let’s stop the madness, let’s make a change.

We only have 160 tickets and they are in high demand, buy them now.

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Coming soon. Tickets for Washington DC bus and lodging.

Thank you for participating in the survey.

The survey is now closed – tickets will go on sale 3/6/2018.

On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington DC and several cities nationwide to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today.

March with us in Washington DC or Boston. On March 24, the collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard.

Last week a bunch of community members including students from LPS came together to discuss how we can support the #enough movement in our community. We are looking/researching into organizing buses to both Boston and DC to attend the marches in Washington DC and Boston on March 24th. This questionnaire is to gauge interest from the community, so we can figure out the interest and arrange logistics. We have less than 4 weeks to plan for this event, so please weigh in so we can plan accordingly.

Costs:

The cost to attend the 3/24 event to Boston is $25 and to DC will be $125(the exact cost is not known yet, but this survey asks for feedback based on initial estimates). This will cover the cost of traveling on a bus (both ways) with fellow Lexingtonians. We are looking to also raise money to fund scholarships for children/adults who may benefit from it.

Children under 18:

There is interest from high schoolers and middle schoolers in participating in the march. If the Community Team can help coordinate buses, it will likely require anyone under 18 to be traveling with a guardian, parent, or chaperone – and may likely require a release of liability.

Please fill out the survey here.

Survey has ended.