3 Questions with Naomi Wadler

Fifth grader Naomi Wadler delivered an electrifying speech at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., last month, calling attention to the lack of national news coverage and empathy for black women who are victims of gun violence. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, black women are three times as likely to be killed with a gun as white women. The Lily caught up with the 11-year-old activist on Saturday after she spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a part of Soledad O’Brien’s PowHERful summit, which 165 girls and young women attended.

What advice do you have for young people who are looking for news that’s a little broader and reflects the diversity of this country?

If you don’t find anything that really reflects and represents you accurately, start your own website. Become an activist. Start talking about it. Get the message out because you can raise awareness to the media, so that they can realize what they are projecting onto their consumers is not accurate news. It ruins people’s self-esteem and makes people think, “Oh, I’m not worth anything because people are not paying attention to me.” Do your own thing.

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