Dante Barry, deputy director of the Million Hoodies for Justice Movement and organizer for the Center for Media Justice, gave a talk in the Holman Room in Mary Lyon Hall on Monday, September 22. Barry described it as an “in-depth discussion on racially-motivated police brutality and what role our generation can play to stop it.”
Barry himself experienced terror in Ferguson. Tear gas was thrown at him and he had guns pointed at his body multiple times. He was also followed by a helicopter, and later by four police cars.
“I felt like I was being haunted,” he said.
In addition, the event consisted of a deepened discussion of Ferguson. The Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin, a young African-American man, was mentioned in addition to discussion about the shooting of Michael Brown.
Barry spoke about the death of young minority children who were brutally killed by the police “for no apparent reason.” He emphasized that people of color are to more likely to get killed because they are portrayed as more aggressive, when in fact they are not.
Some television shows and movies also advertise in such a way, and give people the wrong message about African-Americans.
Barry also mentioned the media in the discussion.
He gave his opinion, which was that just because a person is African-American and wearing a hoodie does not mean that they are harmful.
He went on to mention that every 28 hours, a black person is killed by police violence. “Americans are more likely to be killed by a police officer than a terrorist,” he said.
Barry will continue to pursue social justice in a variety of different locations.