Students across the country are walking out of school Friday to advocate for gun control. In Massachusetts, where schools are closed for vacation week, local activists are holding a community conversation in Springfield.
Parents of Joaquin Oliver, a teen killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, will join a forum on gun control at South Congregational Church in Springfield.
Amaad Rivera, a former city councilor who is moderating the talk, said local members of March for Our Lives deserve credit for organizing the event.
"These young people have reinvented and reinvigorated the conversation about gun violence," Rivera said. "Not just... mass shootings, but also the everyday gun violence that people experience."
Before the community talk, Manuel Oliver, father of Joaquin, will put up an art installation in Springfield. Oliver has erected his mural, called "Walls of Demand," in several major U.S. cities since the shooting.
Below, a video shows his installation in Los Angeles, California.