Parkland Student David Hogg Says Black Classmates Weren’t Given a Voice by Media

Parkland Student David Hogg Says Black Classmates Weren’t Given a Voice by Media

Marjory Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg, now a prominent activist in the #NeverAgain movement, said the media’s biggest mistake while covering the shooting at his school was not giving black survivors a prominent voice.

Speaking at an Axios event Friday focused on the gun debate, Hogg was asked about where the news media tripped up in its coverage of the tragic shooting at his Parkland, Florida school that left 17 people dead.

“Not giving black students a voice,” Hogg responded, via Axios. “My school is about 25 percent black, but the way we’re covered doesn’t reflect that.”

Axios journalist and developer Alex Duner added on Twitter that Hogg said the lack of black representation was “disgusting.”Hogg also told Axios co-founder Mike Allen that his school felt “like a prison” amid ramped-up security measures. The school announced this week it would require all students to wear clear backpacks upon their return from spring break. Robert W. Runcie, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, added there would be further security measures and spending, perhaps even including metal-detecting wands at the school’s entrance.“We want to assure you that the safety and security of our students and employees remain our highest priorities,” Runcie wrote in a letter to parents.Hogg spoke with Allen just ahead of the March for Our Lives rally—an event planned by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors and the #NeverAgain movement—that is scheduled for Saturday in Washington, D.C. with hundreds of sister rallies planned around the world. Thousands of people are expected to attend the D.C. event and a number of celebrities—such as Amal and George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey—have thrown their support behind the march with large donations. 

“The kids and families of March for Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington D.C. to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today,” the group wrote on its website.