about us
Million Hoodies is a human rights membership, campus-based organization building next generation leaders to end anti-black racism and systemic violence.
OUr story
On February 26, 2012, unarmed Black teenager Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman in Sanford, Florida simply because he “looked suspicious.” Million Hoodies Movement for Justice formed on March 19, 2012 in response to the media’s failure to adequately report on the events leading to Trayvon’s death. While George Zimmerman remained free, mainstream media failed at covering the story. Million Hoodies successfully helped to generate global support for the arrest of Zimmerman. The death of Trayvon Martin became a national flashpoint and empowered a new generation of youth activism dedicated to make transformative change.
In 2012, Million Hoodies created a new tool to help track and document incidents of police misconduct and has since collected over 2,000 incidents of misconduct in New York City alone. The Million Hoodies national network that exist today officially launched in 2014, designed to develop a new generation of human rights leaders on the front lines for transformative social change. In partnership with ColorofChange.org, Million Hoodies successfully stopped Oklahoma from passing a discriminatory law that would criminalize Black youth from wearing hoodies in public spaces.
The poster for the original Million Hoodies march in response to the death of Trayvon Martin - March 2012
WHO WE ARE
Million Hoodies has evolved from its organic beginning into becoming a vibrant political home for students of color activists shaping the country’s narrative about safety and justice, and effecting social change at the campus level.
Today Million Hoodies is a human rights membership, campus-based organization whose mission is to build next generation human rights leaders to end anti-black racism and systemic violence. Through transformative leadership development, grassroots organizing, advocacy, and education, Million Hoodies is home to a national network of students committed to building a grassroots student-led human rights movement to end gun violence and reimagine safety and justice for all communities.
The co-founders of Million Hoodies recognized a need to foster the leadership of young people of color to push back against the criminalization and systemic violence facing our communities nationwide. Our members engage in campus organizing around issues that directly impact their communities, from launching a sanctuary fund to provide services and support to undocumented students to reimagining college student activism, and campaigning to reinvest in community and divest from policing and other harmful systems.
The foundation of our approach is an orientation to acting collectively for our community's liberation. We are building infrastructure that goes beyond a march, and equipped with a belief that students are the architects of transformative social change to build safer communities over the long-term.
