Parkland students, Chance the Rapper headline anti-violence rally, 'Scary times'

Chicago natives Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper lead the march through Auburn-Gresham | Scott Olson/Getty Images

Ogugua Odume is usually a regular at the Friday night rallies held at St. Sabina Church, but Friday, a week after her godson was shot to death, she felt it even more important to show up.

“The gun violence needs to stop, and we need to get the word out,” Odume said. “I think some kids know the importance of not picking up a gun, but some don’t know the impact of a shooting. The person who shot my godson doesn’t know the impact he’s caused on his family.”

Odume and her family were just some of the several hundred attendees at the Auburn Gresham church’s annual end-of-the-school-year rally and march.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas joined forces with Chance the Rapper and actress Jennifer Hudson, which Father Michael Pfleger hoped would “amp up” the push for gun control and help reduce gun violence.

The rally is part of the Parkland students “Road to Change” tour, which featured Parkland student who’ve been at the forefront of a renewed push for gun control since a Feb. 14 shooting at their Florida school killed 17.

The March For Our Lives “Road to Change” has more than 50 planned stops in at least 20 states in the summer of 2018. | Graphic provided

The Friday night rally was the first stop for the students in their push for gun control measures — they’ll be in Naperville Saturday for a town hall on the same subject.

Before the event began young people chalked phrases like “enough” and “stop killing us” on the sidewalk and street outside of the church. A Divvy-esque kiosk holding assault rifles for a “metro gun share program” sponsored by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence was nearby. During the rally, the names of 147 young people who have been killed from June 15, 2017, to the present were read off.

Pfleger said this is the biggest year for the rally. Appearances by Chicago natives Chance and Hudson as well as former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Az., who was shot in the head in 2011, raised the rally to a new level and tells people to “either get on board or get out of the way,” he said.

Cardinal Blase Cupich led the opening prayer before Hudson and Chance performed. Giffords and Parkland students also spoke.

Parkland student activist Emma Gonzalez, center left, hugs Patricia Oliver before the rally. | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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The students-turned-activists have become powerful national voices. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Signs with messages from the Chicago Sun-Times 31 bullets campaign on gun violence. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Tyra Hemans, an alumnae of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., watches | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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Victoria Gonzalez, right, sits on Manuel Oliver’s shoulders. Gonzalez’s boyfriend, Joaquin Oliver, was killed this year at a Florida high school shooting. | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Rev. Pfleger greets attendees | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Chicago natives Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper lead the march through Auburn-Gresham | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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A girl next to an inverted U.S. flag, recognized as a signal of distress. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson and will.i.am | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Chicago police officer Tatum stands at an intersection on 79th Street during the march. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Anti-gun violence advocate and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez (R) is comforted.| Jim Young/Getty Images

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Attendees bow their heads in prayer. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Chicago native Jennifer Hudson singing on stage. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Chance the Rapper watches the stage. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Two participants in the march stop at an intersection to dance. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Chicago natives Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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A woman visits a mural at the “End of School Year Peace March and Rally” in Chicago. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson on stage | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Signs promoted peace. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Students from Parkland Florida | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance The Rapper lead the march after the Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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The march through Auburn-Gresham. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Parkland student activists Jammal Lemy, left, and Emma Gonzalez embrace | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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Jennifer Hudson and will.i.am | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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The march through Auburn-Gresham to demand an end to gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance The Rapper lead the march after the Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance The Rapper lead the march after the Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Chance the Rapper chants at the front of the march. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Father Michael Louis Pfleger hugs Parkland student activist Emma Gonzalez. | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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St. Sabina Father Michael Pfleger | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Larger-than-life images of the victims of gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas addresses the crowd at the rally. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors.| Jim Young/Getty Images

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One of the many young faces at the rally. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Rev. Pfleger requested for 1,000 people to participate in the shutting down of the Dan Ryan on July 7. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Harold Green performs a poem | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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A girl attends the “End of School Year Peace March and Rally” in Chicago on June 15, 2018. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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The march through Auburn-Gresham to demand an end to gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance The Rapper lead the march after the Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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The march went between 79th Street and 83rd Street on Racine Avenue before heading east. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Protestors march through the streets | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Aaliyah Borsey, 15, stands with her diploma. Borsey graduated from Ryder Elementary that day. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors | Jim Young/Getty Images

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The march through Auburn-Gresham to demand an end to gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Parkland student activist Emma Gonzalez, center | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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Anti-violence advocate Father Michael Pfleger | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School of Parkland, Florida stand onstage at St. Sabina Church. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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An inverted U.S. flag, which is a recognized signal of distress, is seen the “End of School Year Peace March and Rally” | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Rev. Michael Pfleger | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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A participant of the rally sings “Amazing Grace.” | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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Aaliyah Borsey, 15, stands with her diploma on 83rd Street. Borsey had just graduated from Ryder Elementary. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Marchers carried signs with pictures of victims of gun violence.| Scott Olson/Getty Images

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A girl bows her head in prayer | Jim Young/Getty Images

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The march through Auburn-Gresham to demand an end to gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Tyra Hemans of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School watches | AP Photo/Annie Rice

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Aaron Jordan, 44, holds his fist in the air while walking with marchers on 83rd Street. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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As the sun set, Hudson marched through the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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The march through Auburn-Gresham to demand an end to gun violence. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson (2nd L) and Chance the Rapper (2nd R) take part | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Actress Jennifer Hudson looks on at the rally. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance The Rapper lead the march after the Rally for Peace, St. Sabina Church, Friday, June 15th, 2018. | James Foster/For the Sun-Times

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The Parkland students-turned-activists have become national voices. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Anti-violence advocate Father Michael Pfleger poses by a picture of a victim of gun violence. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Two participants in the march stop at an intersection to dance. | Colin Boyle/Chicago Sun-Times

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Marchers carried signs with pictures of victims of gun violence.| Scott Olson/Getty Images

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The Rev. Michael Pfleger plans to lead a shutdown of the Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday morning. | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Singer Will.i.am performed at the peace march and rally with Parkland students | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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A boy bows his head in prayer | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper | Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Chance the Rapper addresses the crowd | Jim Young/Getty Images

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Douglas High School shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez (2nd R) | Jim Young/Getty Images

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In her short time at the mic, Giffords said it was time to join forces, and voices, to get gun control.

“These are scary times,” the former congresswoman said. “It’s time for us to stand up for what’s right.”

Giffords urged those in the crowd to “protect our students and let them lead the way.”

Hudson and Chance urged young people to get involved and to stay optimistic.

“It’s so important for us to link up and talk about the stuff that’s going on here,” Chance said. “Everyone on this stage is anti-gun violence — from people in our community to people policing our community.”

Though the night was stop one for the Parkland students, it is one of many “direct actions” planned for this summer by Pfleger and the St. Sabina community.

“The Parkland students connected the dots across America, and we want to be part of the national coalition for gun reform,” Pfleger said. “We adults have failed our youth miserably, and we need them and their impatience.”