X González
A survivor of a school shooting who channeled grief into national action, co-founding a youth-led movement that mobilized millions for gun reform.
Born 1999 (age 27)·American activist and gun control advocate·Birthday: November 11·Generation Z
Biography
In February 2018, X González was a high school senior. Minutes after escaping the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, they became a symbol of a generation's rage and resolve. With a raw, powerful speech at a rally days later—where their six-minute silence echoed across the nation—González helped ignite the Never Again MSD movement. They helped organize the March for Our Lives, one of the largest youth-led protests in American history. González brought a fierce, unapologetic voice to the gun violence prevention movement, challenging politicians on camera and speaking with moral clarity about the cost of inaction. They stepped back from the public eye to attend college but remain a potent figure, representing the traumatic pivot point where victimhood was swapped for formidable, organized political demand.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
X was born in 1999, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When X Was Born
The biggest hits of 1999
#1 Movie
Star Wars: Episode I
Best Picture
American Beauty
#1 TV Show
ER
X's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1999Born
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2004Started school
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2012Became a teenager
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2015Could drive
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2017Could vote
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2020Turned 21
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 27 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the gun violence prevention advocacy group Never Again MSD in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland shooting.
- Delivered a seminal, nationally televised speech demanding action, famously repeating "We call BS" to lawmakers.
- Was a key organizer of the March for Our Lives in Washington D.C. in March 2018, which drew over a million participants nationwide.
- Their activism contributed to the passage of new gun legislation in Florida just weeks after the shooting.
Did You Know?
They use they/them pronouns.
They were accepted to Harvard University and took a gap year to focus on activism.
Their powerful rally speech was delivered just three days after the shooting.
They have been open about their struggles with PTSD following the trauma.
“We call BS! They say that no laws could have been able to prevent the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call BS!”
