Dr. Cornel West has called for people across America to participate in a national movement to put a stop to the killing of black and Latino people.
Dr. West’s call to action is trending on social media under the hashtag #ShutDownA14, with supporters and participants of the movement using the expression to speak out on the injustice of police brutality.
According to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, #ShutDownA14 is meant to “disrupt business as usual.” People are encouraged to flood public offices, buildings and spaces in the name of justice.
West made the request at an emergency program held on Monday April 7, at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in New York.
“For over seven years young black and brown women and men have been shot down by the police every 28 hours,” West stated. “We’ve got a black president, black attorney general, black cabinet secretary of homeland security. They’re fundamental aim is to ensure the citizens are secure and safe in America, but we haven’t had one federal prosecution of a policeman for killing all of those folks. Something’s wrong. Something’s deeply wrong.”
Watch West’s speech and call to action below: