BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's a small addition to her wardrobe, but Kitty-Lambert Rudd says the safety pin she wears has a significant meaning.
"I genuinely mean, if you're frightened, if you are afraid, I'm there. If I have to stand between you and someone, I will do so," said Lambert-Rudd, president of the WNY Anti-Violence Project.
Following violence and hatred directed at certain groups of people across the country, she says the safety pin movement calls on everyone to come together.
"What a great community this would be if we would all stand up for each other, if we would all have each other's backs."
While Lambert-Rudd says she considers the pin a symbol of her commitment to take action, she's been criticized for participating in what others consider a passive effort.
"I was like pretty cynical, like that's just more point-and-click activism that pervades Facebook," said Cynthia Clarkspellman, Lambert-Rudd's friend, "It just seems like for a lot of people, it's just to make themselves feel better because the things that they're complaining about were already happening before Donald Trump got elected."
Lambert-Rudd says she got into a heated argument online with a reporter who's interviewed her in the past.
"I had put up that I was going to do this and he said that he felt I shouldn't, that it was the wrong thing to do, and I was doing it only to make myself feel better about my white privilege," she said, "I'm sorry that I do have white privilege, and I want to change it."
Despite her initial reaction, Clarkspellman says she believes how passionate Lambert-Rudd is, and they're planning an open forum in January to discuss how to bring about change.
"It's a good first step. You can mentally be an ally, but then you have to put your feelings into action," said Clarkspellman.
"I would discourage anybody from just putting it on because you think it's nice," said Lambert-Rudd, "Don't put the pin on thinking that solves anything. All it is is a diaper pin, and what are diapers full of?"