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“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”

-HOWARD ZINN

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
-ELIE WEISEL
 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed it is the only thing that ever does"

-MARGARET MEADE

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!  And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

-BARRY GOLDWATER
 

n More Information About Movers and Movements

n More Information About Resources and Tools

ACTIVISTS & ADVOCATES

Among the courageous individuals we admire as human rights activists are such heroes as Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Susan B Anthony, Albert Schweitzer, Cesar Chavez, John Kennedy, Elie Weisel, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

n Mahatma Gandhi
n Martin Luther King Jr
n Albert Schweitzer
n Dalai Lama
n Elie Weisel
n Cesar Chavez
n Desmond Tutu
n Nelson Mandela
n Lech Walesa
n Aung San Suu Kyi
n Paul Loeb
n Noam Chomsky
n Howard Zinn

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”

-HOWARD ZINN

“Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane.”

-HOWARD ZINN

“If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion.”
-NOAM CHOMSKY

“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.”
-NOAM CHOMSKY  

“In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival.”
-NOAM CHOMSKY  

“You never need an argument against the use of violence, you need an argument for it.”
-NOAM CHOMSKY

“Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“Once you bring life into the world, you must protect it. We must protect it by changing the world.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“Peace is our gift to each other.”
-ELIE WEISEL

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.”
-ELIE WEISEL
 

THE ELDERS PROJECT

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

The story of the Elders started in a conversation between the entrepreneur Richard Branson and the musician Peter Gabriel. The idea they discussed was a simple one. In an increasingly interdependent world – a global village – could a small, dedicated group of independent elders help to resolve global problems and ease human suffering?

For inspiration, they looked to traditional societies, where elders often help to share wisdom and resolve disputes within communities. They took their idea to Nelson Mandela, who agreed to support it. With the help of Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu, Mandela set about bringing the Elders together.

Prospective members were invited to join on the basis of a distinct set of criteria. Firstly, and most importantly, they should be independent. They should have earned international trust, demonstrated integrity and built a reputation for inclusive, progressive leadership.

Mandela announced the formation of the Elders in July 2007, on the occasion of his 89th birthday, at a ceremony in Johannesburg. During the ceremony, he described the mission of the group:

"The Elders can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes. They will reach out to those who most need their help. They will support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict and inspire hope where there is despair."

n Meet the Elders

 

TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTEST

n Read About the Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre

n View the Standoff Between Tanks and a Lone Chinese Student Protestor
n View a Video Montage of the Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre
n View a Special Video Project Showing Images from Tiananmen Square
 

“Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.”
-AUNG SAN SUU KYI

“The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.”
-AUNG SAN SUU KYI

"Fear is not the natural state of civilized people."
-AUNG SAN SUU KYI

“Please use your liberty to promote ours."

-AUNG SAN SUU KYI

“I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.”
-MAHATMA GANDHI

“In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all.”
-MAHATMA GANDHI

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
-MAHATMA GANDHI

“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”
-MAHATMA GANDHI

"The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating."
-CESAR CHAVEZ

"We've got to take back the ideal of justice, we've got to take back this principle of human dignity. We've got to take it back from vengeance, from hatred, we've got to say: look, we're all in this together. We are human beings."
-David Kaczynski

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."
-Dom Helder Camara

"Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

GANDHI'S SEVEN SINS

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humility
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle

n Read More About Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins

ROOSEVELT'S FOUR FREEDOMS

Freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of worship
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear

n View Video of Roosevelt's Four Freedom's Speech
n View Norman Rockwell's Images of FDR's Four Freedoms

ALBERT SCHWEITZER'S SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Right of habitation
Right to move freely
Right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it
Right of freedom of labor and of exchange
Right to justice
Right to live within a natural national organization
Right to education

n Albert Schweitzer Institute
n Wikipedia: Albert Schweitzer
n My Hero: Albert Schweitzer
 

"Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired."
-Robert F. Kennedy

"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government."
-Thomas Jefferson

"Genuine politics -- even politics worthy of the name -- the only politics I am willing to devote myself to -- is simply a matter of serving those around us: serving the community and serving those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility expressed through action, to and for the whole."
-Vaclav Havel

"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
-MOTHER THERESA

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice"

-MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

"The only thing necessary for the persistence of evil is for enough good people to do nothing."
-AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Hope is power"

-AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because  they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."

-ANNE FRANK
 

AUNG SAN SUU KYI

Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world's most renown freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence, having served as the figurehead for Burma's struggle for democracy since 1988.  For the past 14 years she has been in detention, in prison, or under house arrest for her activism.

She has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India.

n PBS Frontline Report
n Wikipedia
n Nobel Peace Prize Winner

n General Info
n Burma Campaign
n YouTube Video of Interview
n You Tube Video of Comments on Non-Violence
 

"I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

-CHARLES HOUSTON

"Nations will rise and fall, but equality remains the ideal.  The universal aim is to achieve respect for the entire human race, not just for the dominant few."
-CARLOS ROMULO

"All human beings, whatever their cultural or historical background, suffer when they are intimidated, imprisoned or tortured . . . We must, therefore, insist on a global consensus, not only on the need to respect human rights worldwide, but also on the definition of these rights . . . for it is the inherent nature of all human beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity, and they have an equal right to achieve that."
-DALAI LAMA

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me; give me liberty or give me death!"
-PATRICK HENRY

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy."
-JOHN ADAMS

"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace."
-FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
 

NEW DEFINITION OF GREATNESS

By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.

By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?"

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. 

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say.

n The King Center
n Info Please
n I Have a Dream
 

"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain."
-EMILY DICKINSON

"A universal renunciation of violence requires the commitment of the whole of society. These are not matters of government but matters of State; not only matters for the authorities, but for society in its entirety, including civilian, military, and religious bodies. The mobilization which is urgently needed to effect the transition within two or three years from a culture of war to a culture of peace demands co-operation from everyone. In order to change, the world needs everyone."
-FEDERICO MAYOR, Director-General of UNESCO

"Basically we could not have peace, or an atmosphere in which peace could grow, unless we recognized the rights of individual human beings... their importance, their dignity... and agreed that was the basic thing that had to be accepted throughout the world."

-ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

"I have cherished the ideal a democratic and free society... it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

-NELSON MANDELA, President of South Africa, who was imprisoned from 1964-1990

 
"Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them."

-FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, US President, Four Freedoms Speech, 1941
 

 

LECH WALESA OF POLAND

Lech Walesa is known for his valiant effort to free his native Poland from Communist rule. Born into a working-class family in 1943 in Popowo, he excelled in school. But lack of money forced Walesa to attend a vocational school at 16. In 1967, he moved to Gdansk where he worked in a shipyard as an electrician. By this time, Polish workers were beginning to protest the poor conditions of life. A strike in Gdansk in 1980 led to the formation of the National Committee of Solidarity, and Walesa was elected chairman. In 1990, Walesa was re-elected to chairman of Solidarity. His interest in serving as president in Poland became increasingly public. In the presidential election of 1990, Walesa won more than 74 % of the ballots, making him Poland's first popularly elected president. For his efforts, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, among many other awards.

n Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Lech Welesa
n Wikipedia: Lech Walesa

n Time 100: Lech Walesa
 

"It has long been recognized that an essential element in protecting human rights was a widespread knowledge among the population of what their rights are and how they can be defended."

-BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, Sixth UN Secretary-General, 1992-1996

"Although we are in different boats you in your boat and we in our canoe we share the same river of life."

-CHIEF OREN LYONS, Onandaga Nation, USA

"We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle, or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected, not to be victims of intolerance and racism."

-RIGOBERTA MENCHU, Guatemala Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 1992

"The right to development is the measure of the respect of all other human rights.That should be our aim: a situation in which all individuals are enabled to maximize their potential, and to contribute to the evolution of society as a whole."

-KOFI ANNAN, United Nations Secretary-General

"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master.  I want the full menu of rights."

-BISHOP DESMOND TUTU
 

"Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself."

-ROBERT INGERSOLL

"No man is above the law and no man below it."

-THEODORE ROOSEVELT

HUMAN RIGHTS NOTEBOOKK