At 6, Kelsey Hines knows about both school shootings and street shootings.
The Baltimore kindergartner is versed in the tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary and in Parkland, Fla., as well as killings closer to home. So when she was heading to church last week with her grandmother and saw yellow crime scene tape blocking her way, she became fed up.
Kelsey went home and asked her mother to help her make a video.
“I’m just going to be talking about these killings up in here,” she starts in the video, which was posted to Facebook and has been viewed more than 4 million times. “Why can’t y’all just let us live? Why can’t you just let us grow up?”
In the video, she is wearing a pink shirt that says: “Don’t shoot! Let me grow up!”
“Why can’t you let us have fun, whether we want to play with our friends, but we can’t because you’re out here shooting kids, shooting babies, shooting mothers and fathers,” she says, staring directly into the camera.
The video goes on for more than four minutes, as Kelsey passionately instructs everyone to stop the violence and leave kids alone. Her mother Kelly Ellerbe, 36, said that while Kelsey’s life has not personally been affected by gun violence, she hears a lot about it in her community and on the news. She said Kelsey is a child who has always been curious and unafraid to speak out. Kelsey also sings the loudest in her church choir.
“I’m very proud of her,” said Ellerbe. “Maybe her voice will be heard, and maybe she can save a life or two. We deal with a lot of violence in this city.”
So far this year, 94 people have been killed in Baltimore, a city of 612,000. The shooting Kelsey came across on Lanvale Street injured three people, including a 19-year-old.
Ellerbe said while gun violence around the country and close to home is scary, she’s glad Kelsey is able to talk about her fears and feel empowered.
“I’m glad my daughter has a voice,” she said. “Maybe one of the shooters will have heard her and have a change of heart.”
She said she’s gotten messages from people around the world saying the video made them cry.
One person who sent her a message said he was a gang member who was touched by Kelsey’s video. Another man said he had been “getting ready to lean on this clown” — meaning have a confrontation with someone — but he decided against it after watching Kelsey.
“We all have been praying for a change — I pray all the time,” Ellerbe said. “In my daughter’s mind, she thinks she’s going to save the world. I’m not going to tell her any different.”
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