Us Kids: Film Screening and Conversation

Every 156 minutes a child or teen is killed with a gun in the United States.

In 2018, firearms became the leading cause of death for young people ages 1-19. And for every child or teen fatally shot, another 5 suffered injuries due to gunfire. Some of those whose lives have been forever changed due to gun violence have led the charge to prevent these tragic events. Students from Florida to California have engaged in activism and advocacy to end the crisis of gun violence—succeeding in changing minds and changing the law.

Student activists can be powerful change agents on a variety of social issues—fueled by lived experience or simply by a desire to make a difference. Advocacy efforts are enhanced by understanding proven tools and strategies of change as well as how to honor one’s own lived experience and that of others. We invite you to spend 156 minutes with the Children’s Advocacy Institute and the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego learning about translating outrage and personal tragedy into healthy activism and effective policy advocacy.

In-person attendance is limited to current USD students, faculty, and staff.

Boxed meals will be provided at 5:00 p.m. in the KIPJ Rotunda – please note that no food is allowed in the theater.

• Jim Schultz, Executive Director of The Democracy Center, has trained and supported activists on five continents for more than 30 years. He serves as a global advocacy advisor to UNICEF, and has led winning activist campaigns from the local level to the global. He has authored several books, including the recently published The Art of Advocacy; A Little Book About How to Make Big Change, which will be available to all attendees.

• Marcus Freidman (JD ’21), created and lobbied for California’s AB 1057 while still a student at USD School of Law. This bill, passed by the legislature, expands the definition of firearms in gun violence restraining order laws to include parts used to create “ghost guns.” Friedman is driven by his very personal ties to the policy changes he is proposing. Not only did he survive the Las Vegas shooting on October 1, 2017, but his hometown is Parkland, Florida, where just months after the Las Vegas shooting, another mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School tragically impacted his community.

From Kim A. Snyder, director of the Peabody Award-winning documentary Newtown, comes an insightful, rousing coming-of-age story of a generation of youth leaders determined to take the reins and fight for justice at a most critical time in our nation’s history. Sparked by the plague of gun violence ravaging schools, US KIDS offers unprecedented access to the March For Our Lives movement, following X Gonzalez and other co-founders and survivors over the course of several years. These teenage activists pull off the largest youth protest in American history, setting out to build an inclusive and unprecedented youth movement that addresses gun violence prevention, racial justice, a growing public health crisis and shocking a political system into change. At the same time, this group of driven, resilient, empathetic young people must navigate the personal consequences of their remarkable choice to dedicate their own lives to honor the fallen and take back democracy.

Please note that this film contains content related to violence and trauma, as well as scenes of youth vaping, and might not be appropriate for viewers of all ages.

Adherence to USD's Face Covering Policy will be required.

Host or Publisher University of San Diego School of Law’s Children’s Advocacy Institute