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Woven Teaching is happy to share our latest edition of latest edition of Human Rights Beyond the Headlines! This month’s topic: What is the “Rule of Law?” Is it a Rule… Is it a Law?! This month’s topic: What is the “Rule of Law?” Is it a Rule… Is it a Law? Created to support educators in helping young people navigate the current events that impact their lives, Human Rights Beyond the Headlines will provide background information about key current events and strategies for discussing them with young people, including how to understand them through the wider lens of justice and human rights.

What is the “Rule of Law?” Is it a Rule… Is it a Law? These days, we’ve been hearing a lot about the “rule of law.” In the headlines, the news, and our social media feeds, questions are being raised about whether the current US presidential administration thinks it is “above the law,” and whether the rule of law still exists. This is not just happening in the US; other countries are also experiencing a decline in the rule of law in other countries, including those with established democracies.What is the “rule of law?” Is it a rule? Is it a law? Is it both, or neither? And what does it have to do with democracy?

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HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

A call for proposals for the National Council for the Social Studies conference in December 2026 has been announced! This conference is the annual gathering of more than 5,000 social studies teachers and teacher educators from across the US and world, and offers a unique opportunity to feature your work as an educator and practitioner. 

You can submit a proposal aligned with both the conference theme AND the strand of Human Rights Education. In 2025, we had over 60 proposals submitted with 20 HRE presentations accepted for the annual conference. 
The link and guide to submit your proposal is below: 

https://www.socialstudies.org/conference/proposals

Proposals are due on February 25, 2026

Feel free to email Jacob Skrzypiec <jacob.skrzypiec@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to discuss your HRE proposal.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Teachers can help the origins of jazz and hip-hop come alive for students with resources that highlight these influential music styles.

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Black History Month provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce or reinforce the fact that African and African American music has had a transformative influence on music in the United States. Born out of and continually formed in the midst of brutal cruelty and injustice, the music of African Americans brought styles and innovations that defined and redefined music in the United States and throughout the world.

This story is made up of many characters in thousands of places spanning several continents and hundreds of years. Two places in the United States, Congo Square in New Orleans and 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, tell this story in a particularly clear way. Teaching about these places provides students with a clear entry into this music history as well as anchor points that you can supplement with additional information.

>> Access resource

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Here are titles on Black history for children, young adults, and educators. See more online.

See more recommended titles on these lists: Civil Rights Teaching, Reconstruction, Slavery, Resistance, and Reparations

Find lessons and additional resources for teaching about African American history at the Zinn Education Project (coordinated by Teaching for Change and Rethinking Schools) and the website for Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching.

For information about D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action visit D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice.

Early Elementary | Upper Elementary | Middle – Fiction | Middle – Nonfiction | YA & Adult | Educators

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Join the University of Arizona and co-sponsors for a Human Rights Virtual Global Youth Summit held online from March 25-27, 2026. Join youth from dozens of countries to discuss and act on critical human rights issues including the following:  

• Gen-Z Protests
• Climate Migration
• Conservation and Indigenous Rights
• Self-Care for Youth Activists
• Girls’ Education
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a Living Document
• Human Rights Education
• Art and Human Rights

>> Learn more about the conference 

To learn more the first Global Youth Summit held last semester, you can read the article From Stories to Solutions: Global Youth Driving Change in Human Rights and Climate Action.

To learn more about how to participate, contact Prof. William Simmons at williamsimmons@arizona.edu. 

Sponsored by the University of Arizona Program in Human Rights Practice, based in the School of Global Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Studies and The Miner Anderson Family Foundation.  

Co-sponsored by: Human Rights Educators USA; the Arizona Institute for Resilience; the Miner Anderson Family Foundation; the James L. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona; and the Reiff Center at Christopher Newport University.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Theme: Human Rights in Our World

Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota invites students to creatively engage with human rights issues through video storytelling. Whether focusing on the right to education, rights of the child, women’s rights, freedom of expression, gender equality, environmental justice, or any other recognized human right—this is your opportunity to raise awareness and inspire change.

• Open to students, residents in the state of Minnesota, currently enrolled in a school (high school, college, or university).   
• Length: Videos must be between 10 to 15 minutes in length. 

Registration and Video Submission Period: From December 1, 2025 to June 1, 2026

>> Learn more and see all requirements and competition rules
For questions, please contact: cgsmn.contact@gmail.com

Co-Sponsored by 
Twin Cities Amnesty and HRE USA, Minnesota 

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

Visit this page to get up to date on the latest HRE USA news.

See past issues of the newsletter here.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.

For over a decade, the Speak Truth to Power video contest has empowered students to use filmmaking as a tool for social change. Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, these films shine a light on pressing human rights issues, celebrate the defenders working to create change across the nation, and drive real action and advocacy. 

Students from all backgrounds can participate in the contest by submitting short three- to five-minute videos—whether they be documentaries, narrative films, or experimental—without needing expensive equipment or prior video editing skills.

Students interested in participating should submit their films for consideration by May 3, 2026. 

LEARN MORE AND SUBMIT TO THE CONTEST →
 

Students should follow the guidelines for their category, grades 6-12 or College Guidelines.

Submissions are judged by a panel of film industry experts, actors, and educators. 

Questions? Email Benjamin Higgins at higgins@kennedyhumanrights.org.

HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.