‘He gave us a voice’: Supporters reflect on the life of Charlie Kirk
Tens of thousands of mourners came to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Sunday to remember the life of Charlie Kirk. NPR spoke with some of them.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Over the past two weeks, Charlie Kirk has been remembered through a split lens. To many, he was controversial, espousing what they saw as bigoted views that drew a lot of criticism. But within the MAGA movement, he was celebrated, especially as a leader among young people. NPR’s Elena Moore went to Kirk’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona, to hear how some of those supporters are feeling now.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: They’re at capacity at the stadium.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Charlie Kirk’s memorial wasn’t set to begin for another hour when staff at State Farm Stadium had to send people away.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: It’s at capacity.
MOORE: That left some supporters in tears. But for 21-year-old Kaity Jay, it didn’t matter.
KAITY JAY: I don’t have to go in there.
MOORE: Instead of standing in line, she decided to sit to the side and take it all in.
JAY: I’m overall just enjoying the experience of being able to see how many people he moved and the big turnout of it. Like, I kept on smiling the whole walk here.
MOORE: When Jay found out about Kirk’s death, she was devastated, having valued that his focus was on young conservatives.
JAY: I think he gave us a voice at the end of the day. And losing that voice has really made a turning point in my life. I’ve had to stand up for myself.
MOORE: Kirk started Turning Point USA when he was just 18 as a space for young conservatives on campuses where they didn’t feel their opinions were welcome. Since then, the organization has reported more than 1,800 college and high school chapters around the country.
ALEX BREADY: He would go to liberal colleges and universities to try to find this demographic that people weren’t really talking to, that he felt like leadership of even both sides weren’t really talking to, convincing young people to get involved in politics.
MOORE: Twenty-two-year-old Alex Bready says he first learned about Kirk on social media, where videos of campus visits often went viral. Now, as he waits in line and thinks about Turning Point’s future, Sunday’s turnout bodes well.
BREADY: His voice has been a lot louder in the last week than it has been through, I think, the rest of his career.
CASSANDRA CASTRO LABENANT: Feel like, if anything, it’s just going to get bigger, and it’s just going to keep growing.
MOORE: That’s 20-year-old Cassandra Castro Labenant (ph). She says she used to feel more scared to share her political views. But in the wake of Kirk’s death, she feels motivated to do things differently.
CASTRO LABENANT: Wherever I do move, I plan to just get way more involved…
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: That’s nice (ph).
CASTRO LABENANT: …Yeah, or just, like, talk to people ’cause I feel like everyone – no one talks. And that was something that Charlie – he did for us, but, like, we didn’t do it amongst ourselves.
MOORE: Turning Point says that since Kirk’s death, they’ve received tens of thousands of requests from students looking to join or start a chapter.
Elena Moore, NPR News, Glendale, Arizona.
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