Countless factors could explain why their activism on gun control has so quickly evolved into a national movement. And one could be Parklands demographics.
People in Parkland tend to be well-off. The median household income in the city is just over $128,000, according to census data, compared with less than $53,000 for the (massive) surrounding Broward County. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, or MSD, reflects this relative wealth: Fewer than 23 percent of its students during the 2015-16 school year received free or reduced-price lunch, compared with close to 64 percent of students across Broward County Public Schools.
That comparable affluence could be key to understanding why Never Agains youth leaders seem to be building so much political clout in a debate that until now seemed impossibly stuck. (And, realistically, may still be.) It could also be key to understanding why similar efforts led by disadvantaged youth in recent years have gained little, if any, meaningful traction.
Its mind-blowing that while [the Parkland students] are still in the first days of dealing with trauma, anger, grief, theyre putting it toward really careful and thoughtful political and civic actionits just amazing, said Meira Levinson, a Harvard Graduate School of Education professor whose research focuses on civic education and youth empowerment. At the same time, its also important to recognize that other young people have done this [activism] also within daystheyre experiencing the same griefand havent gotten the attention that these [Parkland] students have.
