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HRE USA

A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Category: News and Updates

New Book: Joyful Human Rights

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Joyful Human Rights by William Paul Simmons and Semere Keseste (Jan. 2019) is “a pioneering work that thoughtfully explores human rights in the context of the most joyful of human experiences, Joyful Human Rights disrupts current human rights thinking and practice and leads us to challenge the foundations of human rights afresh.  The term “human rights” is now almost always discussed in relation to its opposite, “human rights abuses.” Syllabi, textbooks, and academic articles focus largely on abuses, victimization, and trauma with nary a mention of joy or other positive emotions. Focusing on joy shifts the way we view victims, perpetrators, activists, and martyrs. Importantly, focusing on joy mitigates our propensity to express paternalistic or salvatory attitudes toward human rights victims.”

>> Learn more and purchase

The World’s Largest Lesson – Teaching the SDGs

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The Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG’s) are a set of 17 targets set up by the UN, in which 193 countries pledge to make real, impactful change in the world by 2030. The World’s Largest Lesson has taken on the role of bringing these goals and targets to children and young people everywhere and unites them in action.

They produce free and creative resources for educators to teach lessons, run projects and stimulate action in support of the Goals. At the heart of their resources are animated films written by Sir Ken Robinson, animated by Aardman and introduced by figures students know and respect, like Emma Watson, Serena Williams, Malala Yousafzai, Kolo Touré, Neymar Jr, Hrithik Roshan and Nancy Ajram. The films establish a context for the Goals and inspire students to use their creative powers to support and take action for them.

>> Learn more

Islamophobia: A People’s History Teaching Guide

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Islamophobia is getting worse. The number of anti-Muslim hate groups has grown exponentially. Anti-Muslim hate crimes increased another 15% and the bullying of Muslim children in schools is on the rise. If we want to reverse these trends, we need to challenge Islamophobia with educational resources that raise consciousness and move people to action.

Teaching for Change has created a seven-lesson curriculum called “Islamophobia: A people’s history teaching guide.” The lessons teach us to rethink what we know about the history of Muslims in the U.S., including the fact that Islamophobia is rooted in a history of racism. In addition to narrative-changing content and inclusive teaching strategies, our lessons elevate the voices of activists building justice. Each lesson includes detailed teaching directions, participatory activities, and multimedia teaching resources.

In 2018, Teaching for Change introduced the lessons to nearly 400 teachers who impact 60,000 students.  The lessons are in the final stage of development and will be available in early 2019.

>> Learn more and support the curriculum

HRW World Report: US Continues to Move Backward

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The Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report is arguably the best country-by-country assessment of human rights to be found. HRW recently released its 2019 report, and the U.S. entry is sobering. According to the report, “The United States continued to move backward on human rights at home and abroad in the second year of President Donald Trump’s administration. With Trump’s Republican party controlling the legislative branch in 2018, his administration and Congress were able to pass laws, implement regulations, and carry out policies that violate or undermine human rights.”

The report chronicles domestic setbacks, such as continued whittling away of the Affordable Care Act, as well as backsliding in the areas of human rights diplomacy, with increased support for authoritarian regimes.

>> Read report online
>> Download full report

Say it Forward: A Guide to Social Justice Storytelling

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This new guide by Voice of Witness provides strategies and resources for creating justice-driven oral history projects.

Oral history is a universal form of storytelling. For many years Voice of Witness has shared powerful stories of people impacted by injustice with a broad audience of readers.

Say It Forward extends this work, offering a DIY guide for social justice storytelling that outlines the critical methodology at the core of Voice of Witness’s evocative oral history collections.

What’s Inside?

  • Information, strategies, and steps to address power discrepancies, awareness of cultural norms, insider/outsider dynamics, self-care for interviewers, and more
  • An extensive resource section for oral history, community storytelling, media options for sharing stories, community-organizing resources, and clinical psychology resources related to traumatic stories and self-care
  • Field reports exemplifying how to harness the power of personal narrative to expose larger issues of inequality

>> Learn more and purchase

NCSS 2019 Conference – Call for Proposals

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The theme of this year’s NCSS conference is “Informed Action: Agency, Advocacy, Activism.” The conference will be held November 22-24 in Austin, Texas.

NCSS is partnering with the National Council for Geographic Education and the Texas Council for the Social Studies to create an expansive professional learning experience for social studies, social science, and geographic educators and stakeholders.

2019 Call for Proposals now open! 

Proposal Deadline: March 3, 2019

>>  Submit a proposal
>> Learn more

New Status Report on Human Rights in the United States

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From US Human Rights Network

The US Human Rights Network (USHRN) is pleased to release its seventh annual report on the status of human rights in the United States on December 10th in honor of Human Rights Day. On this day 70 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the first global expression of the rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled—was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

This human rights report is a tool to provide advocates on the ground in the United States with a human rights framework to address their issues on the front lines.

>> Learn more and download report

Black Lives Matter at School

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Mark your calendars! The Black Lives Matter at School week of action will be held from February 4-8, 2019.

Black Lives Matter At School is a national committee of educators organizing for racial justice in education.  BLM at School encourage all educators, parents, students, unions, and community organizations to join the annual week of action during the first week of February each year.

There are many ways to participate in Black Lives Matter at School week. Some educators teach BLM lessons every day of the week, wear their Black Lives Matter At School t-shirt, organize after-school rallies, facilitate their students entering the creative challenge, develop curriculum, post on social media, and rally at the school board meeting. One easy way for everyone to participate is to sign the petition endorsing the week of action. 

The important thing is that you act in some way to join this movement to bring down the structures of anti-Blackness in education and affirm the lives of Black students in your classroom. 

Email BlackLivesMatterAtSchool If you or your organization would like to support or endorse the week of action.

>> Learn more 
>> More Teach BLM Resources

 

Happy Human Rights Day

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Today, Monday, December 10th marks the 70th ANNIVERSARY of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A milestone document in the global history of human rights that is as relevant today as it was when drafted seven decades ago.  

Although the UDHR is not in itself legally binding, it has become the procreator of modern international human rights law, providing safeguards – and sometimes lifelines – for thousands of people from all walks of life when national laws fail them. It has parented 16UN human rights treaties that are legally binding, including the twin UN Covenants spanning economic, social and cultural and civil and political rights respectively, plus a host of regional treaties in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

We now take for granted that such human rights standards can be used to hold our governments to account, but just 70 years ago there were no internationally recognized human rights norms at all. The very fact that the UDHR has stood the test of time is a testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice, and human dignity.

The promise of the UDHR, however, has yet to be fulfilled because, as all advocates know, human rights are not a given but rather require a continuous struggle to get and once that has been achieved to keep. In other words, it is down to us to promote its ethical vision as new forms of nationalism and populism threaten to challenge our world.  

At HRE USA we believe human rights education is key to ensuring a future in which all people’s rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. Please consider supporting HRE-USA by making a tax-deductible contribution on our behalf to our fiscal sponsor, the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3organization. Your donation will allow us to continue to advocate for and further develop programming that supports human rights education across the United States.

          DONATE HERE          

In honor of the 70th Anniversary and to help everyone celebrate the gift of the UDHR, HRE USA has created this online resource kit. You can also join the international campaign to #Standup4humanrights. 

 HAPPY HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

 

We are grateful for the generous support of our members, individual donors, and The Puffin Foundation Ltd
The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.