By Dante Barry for Moyers and Company - With the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been an alarming increase in the rate of targeted attacks on the country’s most vulnerable communities including immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ, black people, women and the poor. Around the country, states are consolidating power, increasing police budgets and ICE enforcement. Meanwhile, the federal government is working on repealing policies that have historically provided mobility and protection for communities of color — the most basic, undermining public education. Million Hoodies Movement for Justice, a human rights membership, chapter-based organization made up of eight local groups — from Bard College to Sarasota, Florida and Riverside, California — was formed in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin on March 19, 2012. While activists rallied in Union Square and others united to demanded justice for Trayvon Martin across the country, we asked one of the most fundamental questions: Who has the right to be safe and to feel safe in this country? What happened in September at Cornell University shows how precarious the situation can be. A black student was assaulted by fellow student, 19-year-old John Greenwood, and called the n-word while punched in the face repeatedly. Following the incident, Black Students United’s co-chair & Million Hoodies Cornell University chapter leader Delmar Fears led hundreds of black students into Willard Straight Hall and occupied the building for several hours after delivering a list of demands to the university’s president.
