Congratulations to our 2021 Edmonds Summer Fellows

HRE USA is excited to announce our 2021 Edmonds Summer Fellows:

Ashleigh Deno is a senior preparing for graduation from Murray State University in May with a Bachelor’s in Secondary History Education. She is currently student teaching at Murray High School in Murray, KY. Ashleigh will be working on developing HRE USA's online media strategy.

Danielle Lucksted is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology at Stony Brook University, NY, and has an M.A. in Human Rights from University College London and an M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. Danielle will be working with HRE USA to develop a virtual Training of Trainers for human rights educators.

Winnie Ho is a Program Coordinator for the National Resource Center for Academic Detailing (NaRCAD) in Boston, MA. Winnie will be working on landscape mapping, organizational outreach, and relationship-building with HRE USA partners.

>> Learn more about the 2021 Edmonds Summer Fellows

Support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

Going to school or returning home from an after-school job or visiting friends or going to a cookout or concert—or a playground—should not put students’ lives at risk. But sadly, in communities of color, this is the reality.

As the one-year mark of George Floyd’s murder approaches, we demand accountability and justice for all and to demand that ourour elected leaders and those who swear an oath to protect us respect our rights, no matter our race, background or where we live. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 1280) takes initial steps toward that goal and will work to end police brutality, protect civil rights and liberties, and change the culture of law enforcement agencies.

Email your senators and ask them to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

>> Take action

Teach Human Rights with Poetry

Rhythm and Resistance Teaching Poetry for Social Justice - Rethinking Schools
Offering practical lessons about how to teach poetry to build community, understand literature and history, talk back to injustice, and construct stronger literacy skills across content areas and grade levels—from elementary school to graduate school. Rhythm and Resistance reclaims poetry as a necessary part of a larger vision of what it means to teach for justice.
>> View resource

Responding to the Chauvin Verdict

Yesterday, Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges. But our legal system is still far from just, and many students may still be feeling a lack of closure. In critical moments like these, we know students look to educators for guidance. We hope that you’ll reaffirm the value of Black lives. We hope you’ll create a space for students to process—not debate. And we hope you’ll get the support you need. These resources from Learning for Justice can help you hold space for critical conversations today and in the days to come.

>> View resources

Book - Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race

Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race is the book we’ve been waiting for! The team (Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas) did an incredible thing: they explained race and racism to young children. Not only did they do it in a few pages of a board book, but they also provided guidance to the adults who will read it to children. As soon as you open the book, the reader is greeted with colorful representations of the authors and illustrator, as well as a note on the purpose and function of the book. 

The last few pages provide developmental insight by using direct language to explain the “why and how” of having conversations about race, race-related observations, family diversity, identity terms, stereotypes, as well as prejudice, race, racism, empowerment, and activism.

>> Read full book review
>> View resource

Human Rights Education Review – International Conference on Education and Democratic Citizenship

The latest edition of HRER highlights new efforts to develop a sustainable community of global human rights education research. Human rights education (HRE) developed in many forms as a field of practice in the second half of the twentieth century, promoted by non-governmental organizations, various UN initiatives, and other intergovernmental organizations, such as the Council of Europe. The first purpose of HRE was to promote human rights as a ‘common language of humanity’, as expressed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (UN, 1998). The UN Secretary-General’s address made nearly 50 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948), celebrated the lives of human rights leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jnr., for whom a guiding principle of struggle was non-violence.

>> Read journal

Planning to Change the World

This is a plan book for school-based, home-based, and community-based educators who believe that young people can, will, and already do change the world. It is designed to help educators translate their vision of a just education into concrete activities.

This year’s calendar features all-new historical anniversaries and birthdays. The newest edition has all the things you would expect in a lesson plan book, plus:

• Weekly planning pages packed with important social justice birthdays and historical events 
• References to online activities, resources, and lesson plans related to those dates
• Tips from social justice educators across the country
• Inspirational quotes to share with young people
• Thought-provoking essential questions to spark discussion on critical issues
• Reproducible social justice awards 
• and much more

Planning to Change the World is created by the Education for Liberation Network with the support of Rethinking Schools. All proceeds from the sale of the plan book support the work of these two organizations.

>> View resource

Human Rights Watch Student Task Force - Job Announcement

The Human rights Watch Student Task Force is hiring a Liaison for their L.A. office. They seek a highly qualified Liaison to create digital human rights education programming and toolkits in support of the Student Task Force’s annual advocacy/activism campaigns. The Liaison will also develop and implement plans to reach a growing constituency of students and teachers, with special attention to under-served students in Los Angeles-area schools with inadequate resources for human rights education. This is an opportunity to help expand HRW’s human rights education advocacy efforts and mobilize the next generation of human rights advocates on the most pressing human rights issues of the day.

Application Deadline: May 7, 2021

>> Learn more and apply

RFK Human Rights Music Contest

In partnership with the GRAMMY Museum, RFK Human Rights invite students to produce original songs that take a stand against human rights abuses. Their music can contribute to creating meaningful change on any pressing human rights issues such as racial justice, the right to health care, domestic violence, or criminal justice. The contest, presented in partnership with the GRAMMY Museum, is open to any genre of music, and entries will be judged by a panel of GRAMMY-nominated artists. The grand prize winner will perform at a GRAMMY-related event and participate in a virtual student showcase.

Application Deadline: May 17, 2021

>> Learn more and enter

Educating for American Democracy - Student Design Contest

Educating for American Democracy (EAD) invites students to submit their original artwork to their K-12 Student Design Challenge Contest to illustrate their interpretation of EAD's Roadmap for a chance to win a cash prize of up to $350. 

There are Five Design Challenges that will require students and educators to grapple with complex questions in civics and history—those that most would agree do not have a clear or right answer. While deep classroom conversations on the Five Design Challenges included in the Roadmap will require scaffolding and the support of carefully chosen content and instruction, we think students will have ideas or personal experiences that speak to these Design Challenges and want to offer them the ability to create original artwork to share their ideas for a chance to win a cash prize and have their original artwork featured on the Educating for American Democracy website.

Application Deadline: May 31, 2021

>> Learn more and submit artwork

University of Dayton Human Rights Conference Call for Proposals

The Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton will convene the 2021 Social Practice of Human Rights Conference in December 2021 and will focus on the challenges and opportunities the pandemic has created for human rights advocacy. 

The Call for Proposals states that submissions are welcome on the following:

• New or refined tools, methods, and strategies for advocacy emerging during the pandemic, including in transnational advocacy and international institutions;
• Confronting historical legacies of abuse in moments of flux and transition, including reshaping public spaces (eg. memorials, schools) to advance justice;
• New forms of public-private partnerships in human rights and corporate-sector advocacy, including by labor and employee movements; and
• The emergence of intersectional advocacy groups, movements, and networks building relationships across borders and connecting issue areas that leverage this particular political moment.

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2021

>> Learn more and submit

UN Immersion Program Open for Applications

This unique training opportunity will give you direct access to the UN, offering opportunities for networking and insights into UN career paths. The field visits to Geneva include activities with the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other Geneva-based institutions.

>> Learn more and register

Gender and Racial Justice through a Human Rights Lens: A Dialogue with Loretta Ross and Dawn Wooten

EVENT DETAILS: 
When: Friday, April 23, 2021
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 PT
Where:  Virtual Webinar
Cost: FREE

Description:
The International & Multicultural Education (IME) Department at the University of San Francisco invites you to join “Gender and Racial Justice through a Human Rights Lens: A Dialogue with Loretta Ross & Dawn Wooten.” The discussion will be moderated by IME Professors Dr. Emma Fuentes & Dr. Monisha Bajaj, and students from the IME Department. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. 

• Loretta J. Ross is an activist, public intellectual, and scholar, and currently is a Visiting Associate Professor at Smith College. She is the author of multiple books, including Reproductive Justice: An Introduction (with Rickie Solinger, 2017) and Calling In the Calling Out Culture: Detoxing Our Movement due out in 2021.
• Dawn Wooten has risked her life and career to make sure that women’s human rights are not being abused or violated. As the ICE whistleblower, she brought attention to the conditions and procedures at a privately owned Detention Facility in Georgia in 2020. She is a mother currently pursuing her nursing degree.

>> Learn more and register

The Need for Human Rights Advocacy & International Dialogue

EVENT DETAILS: 
When: Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Time: 10:00 -  ET
Where:  Virtual Webinar
Cost: FREE

Join the Speak Truth to Power (STTP) team at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Nizami Ganjavi International Center for an exclusive series where we'll discuss with world leaders the need for international dialogue, understanding, learning, and human rights advocacy. The fourth speaker in the series is Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former president of Croatia—the first woman to serve in that position. In addition to her diplomatic and political work, Grabar-Kitarović has vigorously pursued an academic career in government, international relations, and security studies. She is a recipient of a 2019 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award as well as a number of national and international awards, decorations, honorary doctorates, and honorary citizenships. 

>> Learn more and register

Where Human Rights Begin Series

The classes are held at least once a month on Mondays at 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET for 75 minutes. In each session, the historian is interviewed by a teacher and breakout rooms allow participants (in small groups) to meet each other, discuss the content, and share teaching ideas.

Upcoming Sessions:

• April 26, 2021: The Carceral State
• May 10, 2021: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

>> Learn more and register

Summer Institute - Climate Change Education

>> Learn more and register