Assault victim speaks out

On Nov. 4, Jawhar Edwards was walking along the Coney Island boardwalk, on his way to feed the homeless, when a man and a woman beat him with a metal pole. He believes the two beat him up just because he is gay. He and community activists held a rally in Coney Island to draw attention to the recent rise in hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community. Edwards says he still needs more surgeries and he has not returned to feeding the homeless as he is too scared to go out alone at night.