Oprah says she was inspired to help the Florida school shooting survivors fight for gun control because their dedication reminded her of the civil rights movement. Watch her interview with CNN’s Van Jones on “The Van Jones Show,” Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. https://t.co/ZlVFWoGZzg pic.twitter.com/y7r7socgJi
— CNN (@CNN) March 11, 2018
In the wake of the horrific Florida school shooting, Stoneman Douglas High School students quickly mobilized against lawmakers. Their message was a simple one — for politicians to stop accepting NRA money at the expense of protecting children. The teens announced a March For Our Lives, and multiple high-profile figures quickly endorsed the cause, including Oprah Winfrey, who appears Sunday night on CNN’s The Van Jones Show.
In the above clip, Winfrey explains why she believes that these teens will prompt tangible results for gun-control efforts in the U.S., especially during today’s “dark” climate:
“There hasn’t been a darker time, I believe, for our people, other than slavery, than what was going on in the civil rights movement. And the young people, like the John Lewises of the world, said, ‘No more. Enough. Find another way.'”
Winfrey further added that the teens have been able to harness a very clear and specific intention, rather than to hold a march for a general cause, which wouldn’t carry as much effect. She likens their plans to Rosa Parks’ bus protest, which didn’t arrive as an isolated incident but as something that had been built up to and planned “for a very long time.” For that reason, Winfrey has opened her wallet to many teens across the country, so that they may attend D.C.’s March For Our Lives, which shall take place in cities across the country.
Oprah’s full interview with Van Jones will air at 8pm EST on Sunday.
(Via CNN)