25 young people making noise for social progress

Justin Blackman

Standing up for what’s right can be hard. Doing it by yourself can be even harder. But Justin Blackman didn’t let that stop him for sticking up for what he believed in.

Thousands of students walked out of school back in March to protest gun violence. But Blackman was the only student out of 700 at Wilson Preparatory Academy in North Carolina to participate in the national school walkout to protest gun violence after the Parkland shooting on March 14.

He tweeted a video of himself alone during the walkout saying, “Wow I’m literally the only one #NationalSchoolWalkout.” So he stood out there alone for 17 minutes to commemorate the 17 victims from the Parkland shooting and then went back inside. Thankfully, he faced no repercussions for his protest, and some at school even congratulated him over it.

Walking out there alone to protest gun violence took real guts. And Blackman wasn’t the only one to find themselves alone during a walkout. Other kids felt so strongly about the issue that they walked out alone or walked out despite schools threatening to punish them.

And being alone didn’t deter Blackman. He was back out there again during the walkout on the 19^th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. This time, though, other students joined him after seeing his fearlessness and passion.

Thanks to his activism, Blackman has also been named one of Do Something’s Inspirational 25.

“Now I truly know that one person is all it takes,” Blackman previously told CNN. “No matter the age – skin color, gender – it doesn’t matter.”