This week marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability, which is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. In the United States alone, one out of every five people are affected by a disability, which is roughly 54 million Americans. However, since the ADA was enacted into law, significant changes in technology have created new challenges and forms of discrimination for people living with disabilities. For instance, people with disabilities are twice as likely to not have access to the internet or are severely limited to certain online activities. Those who are blind, for example, are often unable to enter passwords and use certain authentication software, barriers that could be overcome with the development and availability of voice recognition technologies.

As we look back at the last twenty years of progress in increasing access and eliminating forms of discrimination based on disability, we must keep the voices and experiences of people with disabilities at the forefront of policy debates to ensure that our laws keep up with changes in technology and that they continue to protect against new forms of discrimination which impede upon peoples’ capacity to engage with their communities and fulfill their chosen life courses.

On this day in 1852, the day following the spectacular celebrations of July 4th, the great abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass delivered one of the hallmark speeches of the anti-slavery movement, the Fifth of July speech. The speech is a profound work that weaves together both irony and powerful demands for human liberty. It is often overlooked, however, that Douglass was invited to deliver this address by the Ladies of the Rochester Anti-Slavery Society. In understanding the significance of this speech, it is thus crucial to recognize the interconnectedness among social justice movements and how the long-fought struggles for racial equality and women’s rights were able to transform popular consciousness by drawing upon principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence- namely the existence of inalienable rights and the Right of the People to alter or abolish government if it becomes destructive of securing the rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. While the speech is a most pressing condemnation of the hypocrisy of the United States- in proclaiming freedom and liberty while profiting from the cruel and exploitative practice of slavery- the echo at the conclusion of the speech inspires critical reflection of the Declaration and resounds a call to action to uphold the nation’s most fundamental principles.

“Fellow citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them… To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American Slavery…

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which lie is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”

Nearly sixteen years have passed since the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, and the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. Within three short months, more than 800,000 people were killed by friends, neighbors, and members of Hutu Power militias. Several years ago, I had the  opportunity to visit and study in Rwanda, where I met remarkable young Rwandans who, after having witnessed unimaginable terror in their childhoods, have committed themselves to building lasting reconciliation in their communities. The majority of international media coverage and financial resources have been directed to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (held in Arusha, Tanzania), which has jurisdiction over charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Interestingly, a former U.N. ambassador for Rwanda, Jean Damascene Bizimana, who is accused of involvement in the execution of the genocide, was found last week in Alabama. Despite the obvious necessity of prosecuting the masterminds of the genocide, the Tribunal has only convicted 29 persons between 1995 and 2009, and thousands of survivors continue to feel that justice has not been fulfilled. Specifically, 250,000 women were reported to have been raped during the genocide, and approximately 70% of them contracted HIV as a result. While the trial of Jean Paul Akayesu established the international precedent that rape is a crime of genocide, many of the 100,000 survivors of sexual violence are still unable to access necessary anti-retroviral medication (ARV) or basic healthcare services. What does “global justice” mean for these survivors? What forms of “justice” is the international community responsible for after failing to stop the genocide in the first place? 

On the evening of March 24, 1980, while performing mass, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated by a death squad for his public denunciations of El Salvador’s militarized state and mass human rights violations. In 1993, a report by the U.N. Truth Commission on El Salvador revealed the person responsible for ordering the assassination as Roberto D’Aubuisson, a graduate from the School of the Americas in Colombus, Georgia. Archbishop Romero’s funeral on March 30, 1980 was attended by more than 250,000 people, and is recognized as one of the largest demonstrations in Latin American history. Today, people throughout El Salvador and the world remember a man who was committed to the principles of liberation theology and spoke out bravely against poverty, torture, and social injustice. For these same reasons, Romero was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, and is widely considered the unofficial patron saint of the Americas. Ironically, as the world celebrates Archbishop Romero, the Texas Board of Education voted on March 10th to remove all mention of Romero’s life, work, and political activism from its curriculum because he is, as members argued, “not well known.” My question: Isn’t making things known the precise point of education?

On February 11th, journalists and human rights bloggers around the world are using their voices in the media to stand in solidarity with Iranian human rights activists. In Iran, February 11th is recognized as “Victory of the Revolution Day,” which is meant to celebrate human liberty and freedom. The Iranian government, however, has long violated these principles and is responsible for numerous human rights abuses including torture, arbitrary arrests, censorship and a recent execution of  two activists accused of inciting the post-election protests on June 12th, even though they had been held in detention prior to the demonstrations. For more information on the current state of human rights in Iran, Amnesty International’s country report is a great resource. Also, for details on how to use media and social networking to stand in solidarity with Iran, please visit the Iranian human rights information page at Bloggers Unite.

Fifty years ago today, on February 1st, 1960, four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina refused to leave a segregated lunch counter in a direct challenge to Jim Crow laws in the South. This tactic of civil disobedience spread like wildfire, especially among students- by the end of the year, more than 50,000 students defiantly and strategically used the sit-ins to protest racial segregation and injustice. A great article by Hasan Kwame Jeffries in Race-Talk rightfully highlights the importance of recognizing that the students were not only protesting against something, they were also positively asserting their human rights and actively living out their alternative visions of a free and just society. (Photo: Courtesy of Greensboro News and Record)

Yesterday, the world lost one of its bravest champions of peace and social justice: Howard Zinn. In December of 2008, The Center for Civil and Human Rights was honored to host Dr. Howard Zinn as part of its 60th Anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Zinn, along with his colleagues, spoke to a packed auditorium after a preview of “The People Speak,” a documentary inspired by his work “A People’s History of the United States,” which captures the lives and speeches of ordinary people who made history from the bottom-up, fighting for justice and democracy. From his advising of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee during the Civil Rights Movement, to his active participation in the Peace Movement against the Vietnam War, to his unwavering commitment to speaking truth to power as a citizen, intellectual, and teacher, Howard Zinn, above all, was a man that dedicated his long and vibrant life to the building of a world safe for human compassion and love. For this, he will be greatly missed.

“I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it. This, of course, was a recipe for trouble.” -Howard Zinn

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… And if we do act, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents.” -Howard Zinn

In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 55/93 to recognize International Migrants Day, a day which celebrates the UN’s adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Migrant Worker Convention) on December 18, 1990. The Migrant Worker Convention guarantees migrant workers and their families fundamental rights including: freedom from discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, race, sex, religion (or any other status) in all aspects of work; equality before the law regardless of a migrant’s legal status; and freedom from arbitrary expulsion of migrants from their country of employment.

Despite America’s rich social history of immigration, certain migrant communities, especially those of color, have faced discrimination and exclusion from basic human rights protections. “From the Chinese guest workers who built the U.S. railroad system and the Braceros, Mexican guest farm workers from 1942 to 1964, who worked under unjust and slave-like conditions, to the present day farm workers, nannies, and hotel workers, many of whom continue to endure slave-like conditions, exploitative hours, racist attitudes, and precarious conditions, the struggle for justice continues,” states Janvieve Williams Comrie in a press release by the Latin American and Caribbean Community Center.

An article in The Independent sheds light on human rights education projects that seek to highlight the injustice and struggles that Central American migrants face.

In Manila, Philippines, women march with the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees against modern-day slavery.

“International Human Rights Day reminds us of persisting human rights problems in our communities and in the world, and of the enormous efforts still required to make human rights a reality for all.”
- Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan

Today, millions of people around the globe are celebrating the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amidst the celebrations, however, Human Rights Day also requires us to critically reflect upon our past successes and failures, and to refocus our efforts in addressing the human rights challenges that lie ahead. Kofi Annan’s quote subtly highlights an important component of what our collective efforts must address- the “human rights problems in our communities.” In other words, if human rights are to become a reality on a global scale, people must first work to secure human rights in their local communities where accountability and cultural competency are the greatest. In Atlanta, for instance, thousands of people live without a home or basic healthcare. Instead of regarding these as misfortunes, Atlantans must understand them as violations of a human being’s right to adequate housing and health in order to construct policy solutions that meet the basic tenets and ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What human rights are not realized in your small corner of the world- in your home, in your school, in your workplace, or around your neighborhood? How will you recognize Human Rights Day, both locally and globally?

For some ideas, check out Amnesty International’s Global Write-A-Thon for prisoners of conscience, and read this blog posting by Britt Bravo, which includes a more comprehensive list of Human Rights Day celebrations.

Human Rights Day is coming in just a couple days. The day commemorates the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. The Declaration was written partially as a response to the atrocities of genocide and war that took place during the Second World War. I think it stands as an amazing testament to the best of human intentions. We are all born free and equal. But this is not yet realized in the current state of world affairs.

Take a moment and read the Universal Declaration. Find a way to mark Human Rights Day in action, not just in thought. Because ‘recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’