Alicia Keys leads a protest to mark the 6 month anniversary of the lost Nigerian girls

New York — Alicia Keys held a protest in New York City on Tuesday to mark the six month anniversary of the day the 200-plus Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants.

Alicia aimed to raise awareness to educate people about the girls, who were abducted in April.

The protest kicked off with Alicia and 30 others at the consulate general of Nigeria, holding signs that read "We Are Here" and "Safe Schools Now!"

They chanted "Bring back our girls" and "When do we want them? Now! Now! Alive!" as New Yorkers walked up the street during lunch hour, while others stopped to capture photos and video.



Keys, who is pregnant, said on Twitter that she felt touched to take action because she is a mother. Her son, Egypt, turned 4 on Tuesday.

On my lil guys birthday I stand with the mothers of Chibok!! We can’t ignore 6 months of this tragedy!! pic.twitter.com/LnL4E8QarG

— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) October 14, 2014

I want to remind you that in this darkness, your voice matters! #BringBackOurGirls NOW!! I've signed this, now you: http://t.co/gJ6j7DRD4v

— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) October 14, 2014

She also shared a picture of the protest with a touching message on Instagram

Chargement

It’s my son's birthday today which makes me feel even more in solidarity with the parents of the Chibok girls in Nigeria who were abducted 6 months ago today by Boko Haram. They are still missing!!! At the moment of this rally those parents were marching on the Presidential Palace in Abuja to call on Goodluck Jonathan to pay attention to what can be done to free those girls from a situation too horrible to imagine. It’s difficult and it won’t be easy but we have to keep the pressure on because these girls represent all the girls being kept from an education, they represent all girls who are looked upon as property and they represent rape and violence against women as a weapon of war all over the world! The @WeAreHereMovement is about direct action! Sign your name to join the movement and sign the petition to bring back our girls!! #BringBackOurGirlsNOW #weareheremovement Sign here: (link in bio)

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Keys recently launched the movement "We Are Here," which fights for social justice. She also recorded and released a song with her producer-rapper husband, Swizz Beatz, with the same name.