Local teen activists return to LA after DC march

LOS ANGELES, CA (FOX 11) - A group of South LA teenagers returned home from participating in the March For Our Lives demonstration in Washington D.C. over the weekend.

They say while mass shootings in schools are at the forefront of the discussion about guns in America, they marched as a way to highlight the gun violence that happens in inner city communities and affects people of color.

Edna Chavez was one of the students with Community Coalition who marched on Saturday.

The 17-year-old's speech went viral online as she spoke to the crowd of more than 60,000 people and boldly called on politicians to address gun violence in Latino and Black communities.

She said mass shootings weren't the issue in those communities, but guns still killed youth like her brother Ricardo, who was in high school when he was shot dead.

"You here pops thinking they're fireworks. They weren't pops," Chavez said from the podium. "You see the melanin on your brother's skin turn grey. Ricardo was his name!"

Chavez, Fernando Mosqueda and Nathaniel Belteton said the march was just the beginning of their efforts to get lawmakers to ban assault riffles and high- spa toy magazines.

But more importantly, they demanded more programs that keep youth in inner cities busy, productive and off the streets.

"Job opportunities and mentorship programs," said Chavez.

The recent spotlight had made the group overwhelmed, but not distracted from their next goal--reaching out to Los Angeles city leaders who had publicly agreed that the gun violence in South LA needs to stop.