Five years have passed since Aalayah Eastmond hid beneath the body of her classmate who in death saved her life.
Four years have passed since Eastmond told Congress what happened that day at her high school in Parkland. She begged them to act with sensible gun laws.
She then left for college. She chose a school in Washington, D.C., where she’s spoken in front of small rooms and huge crowds.
Eastmond has become an activist, forced into the role by the day that changed her life. The day a student with a rifle shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That includes classmates like Nicholas Dworet, whose head she lay gently on the ground before she ran.
Almost a year has passed since it happened again. 19 kids and two of their teachers were shot to death in their classrooms in Uvalde, Texas.
President Biden signed the first federal law in decades to address guns last summer.
Now today in Florida, almost to the day of the anniversary of the shooting, there’s a push for a new gun law in the state legislature. This law would make it easier to carry a gun, concealed, no permit required.
For the Feb. 14 episode of Sundial, Eastmond joined us from Washington, D.C., where she’s in college and still speaking out.
On Sundial's previous episode, the man behind Sundial’s theme music told us how he went from working with starts like Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino to forming his own band. Steve Roitstein is the founder and leader of PALO! –– a Miami band whose music he describes as “Afro-Cuban funk.”
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.
Stay in touch with us via text by joining our Sundial text club. Send us your thoughts, ideas or questions by texting the word “join” to 786-677-0767. You can also email us at sundial@wlrnnews.org.
