This weekend, an 11-year-old girl stood before a crowd of 200,000 people in her nation’s capital. And, with barely even the hint of a flinch, she delivered a three-minute speech that hit the world right in the heart.
That girl was Naomi Wadler, a fifth grade student from Virginia. She was one of the many speakers at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC, an anti-guns protest organised in the wake of the Parkland school shooting on February 14.
There were many young voices – including that of Martin Luther King Jr’s nine-year-old granddaughter – but it was Naomi’s who drew awe-struck declarations: This girl was the country’s future president.
It started sweetly. Climbing onto the stage, she stared into the crowd. “Hi,” she began, giggling. “My name is Naomi and I’m 11 years old.”
Watch part of Naomi’s powerful speech in the video below.
But from there, she spoke with the strength and poise rarely seen in such a young child. The giggles didn’t make a comeback. Her job was far too important: she was speaking to honour all the African-American women and girls who lost their lives to gun violence, the women and girls whose stories are too frequently washed over by the media.
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