Donate to Human Rights Educators USA General Fund

Human rights are the basic standards each of us needs to live with dignity, freedom, equality, justice, and peace. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.

Human Rights Education (HRE) is a key part of any strategy to achieve long-term social change that ensures that we are all able to enjoy our human rights equally and without discrimination. HRE promotes values, beliefs, and attitudes that encourage all individuals to uphold their own rights and those of others. It develops an understanding of everyone’s common responsibility to make human rights a reality in each community.

Human Rights Educators USA (HRE USA) is a growing network dedicated to building a culture of human rights by providing an innovative forum for HRE practitioners and supporters to learn, network, and exchange professional expertise and better serve our growing HRE community.

HRE USA operates on a very lean budget and staff. The bulk of the work conducted in our activities and projects is done through the in-kind donation of time and energy given by our dedicated members. Your tax-deductible donation of any size will help us continue to advocate for and further develop programming that supports human rights education across the United States.  

HRE USA is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 organization. Checks should be made out to the Center for Transformative Action and mailed to The Center for Transformative Action, Attn: HRE USA, P.O. Box 760, Ithaca, NY.

Connect Your Students to a 250-Year Legacy. Make history with the Bill of Rights Institute and iCivics! Teach the themes of the Declaration of Independence throughout the 2025-26 school year for a chance to win prizes and swag.

In partnership with iCivics, the Challenge celebrates teachers who share the themes of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our nation during the 2025-26 school year.

Educators who log activities that touch on these themes are entered into a prize drawing. Each item logged counts as an entry. Four prize drawings will occur throughout the school year, and $200,000 in prizes will be available for you and your school.

 Find out how to win!

Scholar Eve L. Ewing, in conversation with Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian and Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones, will discuss her book, Original Sins: The (Mis)Education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, an examination of how the U.S. school system helps maintain racial inequality and social hierarchies. ASL interpretation provided and PD certificates offered to attendees. Register here

The Human Rights Education Curriculum Integration Guide provides model lessons to help social studies and other educators implement human rights education in their daily practice.

This project was developed by a team of New Jersey educators and is tied specifically to their state’s social studies standards. However, the guide can be used as a model for any educator seeking to integrate human rights into their curriculum.

Curriculum highlight writer: John Terry, HRE USA Steering Committee, NJ Regional Rep

The Kemper Human Rights Education Foundation(khref.org) is offering prizes of $5000, $2500, and $1250 to high school students who are citizensor residents of the U.S.judged to have written the best answers to the following question:

Many claim climate change poses a threat to human rights. Do you agree? Provide a clear explanation of the reasons you think specific proposals to deal with the issue are beneficial or harmful.

The essays are due on December 10^th (Human Rights Day).  More information about KHREF and a downloadable flyer may be found here.

In the Epilogue to his book, How the Word Is Passed, Clint Smith writes:The history of slavery is the history of the United States.It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it.This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories.One of the ways this foundational history enters our memories is through the classroom. That is why we are delighted How the Word Is Passed will be available in a YA edition.Join us for class with Clint Smith on August 25. He will be interviewed by Jesse Hagopian and Jessica Rucker.ASL interpretation and PD certificates will be provided. Twenty-five attendees, randomly selected, will receive a free copy of the book.

Register

Kick off the school year with a practical and inspiring look at how to bring high-quality civic education into your classroom from day one. Join our 60-minute virtual program on Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET and get a roadmap for launching the Center for Civic Education’s We the People and Project Citizen programs. The session will feature scholar and political scientist Dr. Francene Engel, along with two experienced mentor teachers, who will share proven strategies for engaging students in constitutional principles, democratic practices, and real-world problem solving. Dr. Engel is an expert in American constitutional law, civil rights and liberties, constitutional theory, women and the law, and American government. She excels at making complex constitutional issues understandable to everyone.