News and Updates – Page 74

Happy Black History Month!

by hreusaFebruary 16, 2023February 16, 2023Leave a comment

“We are going back to that beautiful history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.”–Carter G. Woodson(Founder of Black History Month)

We hope that this month you feel held, you are celebrating and you find joy!
History is alive all the time, all around us. This month in particular provides so many doors to open, through which we discover and reflect upon our experiences and knowledge. At the same time, we know that African American history is being hotly contested and muddled into a divisive issue. This month, let us resist this erasure and wrap our arms around each other and all the things we have yet to learn and to teach. Let us fill the corners of our social media and our conversations with our learnings and yearnings for liberation.
Watch the ritual film “between starshine and clay” by Lead to Life produced with community members across California who have been impacted by policy brutality and gun violence.
Sign up for a Black History Month festival virtual event held by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). You can also read ASALH’s compelling statement of Florida’s rejection of the AP African American History course. Plus, check out the plethora of reading hosted by the School for Black Feminist Politics.
Need some activities for your workplace to talk about anti-Blackness? Check out this Dismantling Anti-Blackness in Democratic Workplaces toolkit from AORTA. You can also watch this excellent primer on the history of race with historical case studies: Challenging Anti-Blackness for Collective Liberation. Read through the Movement for Black Lives’ visionary policy platform for critical info on areas for policy and action.
Find Black owned businesses here. Or check out:Celebrate black history month by supporting these Black-owned businesses We Back Black Businesses 13 ways to support Black-owned businesses and organizations

Resources on Racism, Police Violence, and BLM at School

by hreusaFebruary 14, 2023Leave a comment

We join so many others in demanding, again, an end to police violence and the systems that sustain white supremacy, as well as increased investment in public education and social services.

For educators looking for support on these issues, VOW recommends Zinn Education Project’s materials on the history of policing and Learning for Justice’s resources for facilitating learning about systemic racism.

Additionally, the Black Lives Matter At School Week of Action begins on Monday and is an opportunity to examine curricula and policies in order to promote equity and center Black voices and joy in classrooms across the country.
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Talking to Children About the History of Slavery in the United States: A Resource for Parents and Caregivers

by hreusaFebruary 14, 2023February 10, 2023Leave a comment

Parents and caregivers are children’s first teachers and play a powerful role in determining what children learn about history and in shaping children’s perspectives and our shared future. Discussing the history of slavery in age-appropriate ways can help children understand how that history influences life today.

To connect with the arrival of The 1619 Project series on Hulu this Black History Month, this new Learning for Justice article compiles a list of recommendations for talking about slavery and race with children. The guide also provides age-appropriate information to emphasize in conversations, as well as related LFJ resources.

Letters from Anne and Martin

by hreusaFebruary 13, 2023Leave a comment

Feb 15, 2023 05:00 PM, Eastern Time (US and Canada)

In honor of Black History Month we are presenting a special event, Letters from Anne and Martin. This two-person show highlights the parallels between Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.

To register click here.

This virtual event is offered in partnership with The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights, Anne Frank Center USA, Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation, and the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.

Webinar Short: The American LGBTQ+ Museum

by hreusaFebruary 13, 2023February 6, 2023Leave a comment

Join the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) as we welcome Ben Garcia, the Executive Director of the American LGBTQ+ Museum, to discuss the Museum’s scheduled 2024 opening, its mission and programming, and how you can be involved.

The webinar is on Thursday, February 23rd at 11:00 am (EST-NY). It is free and open to the public. To register, click here.

The conversation is part of ICSC’s Webinar Short series which features 30-minute sessions on the latest developments in the world of Sites of Conscience and their allies.

Online Workshop: Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples

by hreusaFebruary 13, 2023Leave a comment

Would you like to have a better grounding in Native American history? An opportunity to offer dynamic interactive workshops about Indigenous peoples’ rights in your classrooms? On Sunday March 12, 2-4 pm MOUNTAIN time, Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples is offering its online workshop, “Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples.” Register here.

During this 2-hour participatory workshop,we experience the history of the colonization of Turtle Island, the land that is now known as the United States. The story is told through the words of Indigenous leaders, European/American leaders, and Western historians. We engage with this history through experiential exercises and small group discussions. And we consider how we can build relationships with Indigenous peoples based on truth, justice, and an understanding of Indigenous peoples’ collective human rights.

This workshop is presented by Native and non-Native facilitators working together. It is appropriate for high school students and adults. Register here for the next online workshop, or contact co-director Paula Palmer (paulaRpalmer@gmail.com) for more information.

Some sample responses to recent Toward Right Relationship workshops:

From Native participants:

“Everything that went into this experience and the presentation is so deeply meaningful.”

“This workshop is the tool I’ve been searching for to begin imagining a new way forward.”

“This workshop is an innovative and impactful step towards healing.”

From non-Native participants:

“This is a wonderful model for fostering conversations that lead to more understanding among peoples.”

“I am thankful for the discomfort and what it opened up.”

“Wow – that was an excellent workshop. Best zoom educational experience I have had!”

“I’ve known and thought about indigenous peoples’ history for a long time. Now what I can do is much more in the forefront of my mind.”

Kimberlé Crenshaw: Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality & the Right-Wing War on Public Education

by hreusaFebruary 10, 2023Leave a comment

“Nobody can be surprised when suddenly this effort to stomp out critical race theory turns out to be an effort to make antiracism unspeakable, to make queer studies undoable, to make intersectionality — one of the most widespread concepts across the disciplines — something that college-directed students cannot take or can only take if the states allows them to. Anybody who’s concerned about our democracy, anyone who’s concerned about authoritarianism has to wake up and pay attention to this, because this is how it happens.” — Kimberlé Crenshaw on Democracy Now! Watch here

Hear more from Kimberlé Crenshaw on February 15 for the African American Policy Forum AP African American Studies Briefing and Call to Action.

Memory Keepers Story Hour on Zoom

by hreusaFebruary 10, 2023February 8, 2023Leave a comment

Tamar Ben-Simon, HHREC GenerationsForward Speaker

Thursday, February 16, 2023

6:45 PM Gathering for Family and Friends

7:00 PM Program

Tamar Ben-Simon is the daughter of Joseph Obstfeld, a Dutch Holocaust survivor. Tamar tells the riveting story of her grandparents and her father, who was barely five years old at the time of the Nazi invasion into the Netherlands in 1940. It is a story of love vs. hate, evil vs. kindness, despair vs. hope and above all, about the few extraordinary, courageous people who stood up for their beliefs and morals and made a difference.

In 1942, the Nazis stormed Into her grandparents’ apartment in Amsterdam, and it changed their lives forever. In 1944, her father’s mother was scheduled to be sent to Auschwitz, but due to a transportation error, she arrived and was imprisoned in Theresienstadt. Her father’s father, was deemed a “Free Jew” by the Nazi regime due to being forced to work for them as a furrier, while he secretly joined the underground resistance.

Since Tamar was a young adult she has been sharing her father’s Holocaust story about the treasured family heirlooms that serve as a testament of the Holocaust atrocities and defy those that deny it.

Russia and Ukraine: A Year of War Crimes and Genocide

by hreusaFebruary 9, 2023February 6, 2023Leave a comment

February 23, 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 pm CT

We are proud to co-sponsor World Without Genocide’s webinar, “Russia and Ukraine: A Year of War Crimes and Genocide,” on Thursday, February 23, 2023, 7:00-9:00 pm CT on Zoom.

The webinar examines the atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022 and highlights efforts at international, regional, and national levels to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

Registration is required by February 23, 2023, 6:00 pm CT at

www.worldwithoutgenocide.org/ukraine

UN counterterrorism expert to visit the United States and Guantanamo detention facility

by hreusaFebruary 8, 2023Leave a comment

GENEVA (1 February 2023) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, will undertake a technical visit to the United States commencing 6 February 2023.

Between 6 and 14 February, the independent expert will visit Washington D.C. and subsequently the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Over the course of the subsequent three-month period, Ní Aoláin will also carry out a series of interviews with individuals in the United States and abroad, on a voluntary basis, including victims and families of victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and former detainees in countries of resettlement/repatriation.

The visit takes place in accordance with the Terms of Reference for Country Visits by Special Procedures Mandate Holders.

An end-of-mission statement of the Special Rapporteur’s findings and recommendations will be issued following the end of the technical visit.

Ms. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism by the United Nations Human Rights Council. She took up her functions on 1 August 2017. Ms. Ní Aoláin is concurrently Regents Professor and Robina Professor of Law, Public Policy and Society at the University of Minnesota Law School and Professor of Law at the Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her mandate covers all countries and has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 49/10.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For more information and media requests please contact: Ms. Michelle ERAZO (+41 22 917 9449; michelle.erazo@un.org).

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.