The March for Our Lives late last month was estimated to be the single largest protest march ever in Washington, D.C. How could high school students from Parkland, Florida, successfully mobilize so many people and so many resources? The mass shooting at their school was horrific. But sadly, it was not unique. 

So why was the response so immediate and so widespread, with marches across the country?

Do these students speak with more privilege, and are they supported by more resources and more powerful connections than other organizers? Probably so. The Parkland Florida website notes their per capita income is $54,337 with a median household income of $128,292. Nationally, per capita income averages $29,829, with median household income of $55,322. So yes, Parkland, Florida is a wealthy town and its articulate and passionate high school students probably have access to more resources than most other high schoolers.

And people heard them, responded and mobilized in massive numbers around the country. Because of that march in Washington, eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler of Virginia had a national forum to address the very high rates of violence black women face.

Other young people, including several students from Chicago, also spoke that day. Trevon Bosley, whose brother died by gunfire, described the daily violence and harm caused by guns in Chicago, a city where 246 children died by gunfire last year. The killing of Stephon Clark, standing in his grandparents’ backyard with a cellphone in his hand is tragic and timely evidence that some young people face violence far more pervasive than the Parkland, Florida, students do. 

But rather than reject Parkland students because they are more privileged, we welcome their passion and praise them for their message of unity and inclusion of others, whose lives are arguably more threatened and less secure.

Parkland students have motivated people and institutions to question the seemingly invincible NRA. Already, Florida raised the age of legal gun ownership from 18 to 21. Last Friday, the Des Moines Register op-ed page had two pieces urging stricter gun laws, both written by self-identified gun owners. Two airlines have dropped discounted-rate programs for NRA members. 

Criticizing the Parkland students as entitled is irrelevant. Their message is compelling, timely and long-overdue. They are raising their voices and asking all of us to join them. And we should.