Hundreds attend kids' Black Lives Matter protest organized by 8-year-old: 'Kids can make a change'

Eight-year-old Nolan Davis wants his peers to know that they too can make their voices heard during this time of social unrest. "I think that Black Lives Matter is not just important to adults, it's also important to kids," the spirited youngster explained to 5 On Your Side. Despite his young age, Nolan is determined to make a change in the world and recently organized a Children's Black Lives Matter march attended by hundreds of young protesters like himself. "We are the children, the mighty mighty children. Here to tell you, Black lives matter!" the youngsters chanted as they marched down neighborhood sidewalks in Kirkwood with their parents on June 27.

"Thank you all for coming! I am Nolan Davis. I'm 8 years old and I'll be leading this march because Black Lives Matter is important to me," the youngster addressed the crowd on Saturday, reports Webster-Kirkwood Times. "I'm worried about black people, like me, getting hurt. Some skin is like chocolate, some is like vanilla, some is mixed together like mine. But we're all people! Even though I'm a kid, it's important to speak my voice so people can hear me and know they can share their voice too, just like me. So today, we're going to share our voices by marching in Kirkwood. When we get back to the park, you can share your voice by talking to the group or writing a chalk message for everyone to see. Black Lives Matter!"

According to the publication, the young protesters were given the opportunity to share their voices with chalk on the sidewalk before and after the march. Speaking to CNN, Nolan's mother, Kristin Davis, revealed that he got the idea to start his own protest after attending a couple of other Black Lives Matter marches in the area with his mother. "Right after that, he asked me if he could have his own march so that he could let other people's voices be heard," said Davis.

To get the word out about the children's protest, the two created a flyer for their "Children's Black Lives Matter March" and shared it on Facebook, urging families to meet them at Kirkwood Park on the day of the event. "We thought that maybe 50 people would be there," said Nolan. "But there were like 700 people." Youngsters of all races showed up to support the cause, covering the sidewalks in chalk with phrases such as "Stop Racism" and "Be Kind to Everyone," and marching with posters that read "Black Children's Futures Matter" among others.

Davis explained that although her son is in elementary school, he has already been taught about having to act differently in society as compared to his white friends. It has been explained to him that he can only play with water guns only in the backyard "because you don't want it to get mistaken for something else" and that he has to keep the hood of his hoodie down at all times. Davis acknowledged that as his white, adoptive mother, she would never understand the fear that her Black son and five-year-old daughter Caroline would experience as they grow up.

At the same time, she knew these talks were necessary to keep them safe. "We're preparing them for when they're older and taller and bigger. When they're not going to be perceived as cute little kids anymore," said Davis. However, Nolan finds these rules infuriating. "I hate it," he said. "I don't like how Black people have to feel scared when they're just walking down the street or going for a run." The youngster hopes his protest inspires more kids to do the same. "I want kids to feel like me — that you should share your voice. Then grown-ups can hear kids talk and they'll think they can do it too," he said. "We should all keep marching until all the bad stuff, like hurting black people, stops. If someone tells me I'm too young, I would say, 'That's not true because Black Lives Matter should be important to everyone.'"