Memorably marching for their lives. Reuters photo.

Seeking to keep up the momentum to oust politicians in the blood-soaked pockets of the NRA, voting registration activists with HeadCount signed up more new voters during the March For Our Lives than on any single day in the last 15 years. Raising their fists and chanting  “demonstration without registration leads to frustration,” organizers bearing clipboards headed into the crowds to sign up young voters and offer “the tools to make a change.” Their goal: To reach many of the over four million kids turning 18 this year, along with millions of 19-to-21-year-olds who haven’t stepped up to vote.

For those present, the day’s energy in and of itself was galvanizing. Said 18-year-old Hugh Williams from Ypsilanti, Michigan, “The more I see people marching and standing up for a cause I believe in, I want my voice to matter.” Similarly inspiring to many was the extraordinary speech and silence by Parkland student Emma Gonzalez – if you’ve been under a rock, it’s here – and her earlier, fiery call to vote out the ghouls.  At that moment, said one HeadCount organizer, “She threw a pebble in the water that is rippling into a tidal wave.”

Emma