Friday was National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and some Bronx students took the opportunity to demand immediate changes in their community.

The entire student body at Longwood Prep marched to rally with gun violence prevention groups with a similar goal: to feel safe on their streets.

Scholars in the school’s social justice classes organized the rally. Teachers say throughout the year, students learned about the origins of social justice movements and conducted research on gun deaths in their community.

Though NYPD data shows gun violence is down in the Bronx and citywide this year, there still have been dozens of victims in the borough in 2023.

"Progress comes from actually seeing a change, so statistics of decreased gun violence, better mindsets from the peers around me that would prove to me that the change is actually being made in our community and that's what I'm rooting for, not just the talking,” says junior Ashanti Acevedo.