Human Rights
Ending Child Marriage in the U.S.
The U.S isn’t the first country that comes to mind when one considers married children, but New York and Rhode Island just became the mere fifth and sixth states to ban the practice outright. (Following New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.) The marriage age is set by each state and territory, either by statute or…
Read MoreFrederick Douglass’ Freedom
This week in history, formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass bluntly criticized the failure of American commitments to “freedom” in several Independence Day addresses. “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro” was delivered to a majority white audience in Rochester, New York. Tomorrow (July 5th) marks its anniversary. For those unfamiliar, we encourage you to…
Read MoreFood Insecurity Rising Rapidly: Who Is Being Affected?
Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food to live an active, healthy lifestyle. It might mean that sometimes you have enough food and sometimes you have healthy food but rarely do you have enough healthy food. Food insecurity is at the worst…
Read MorePeople Without Housing Targeted by City Ordinance in Austin
Early voting on a city ordinance to sweep people without housing out of view is underway in Austin. A ban on public sleeping was lifted in 2019, but now Austin’s homelessness problem has become too visible for some. A May 1 vote will determine whether or not to criminalize being homeless again. Hundreds of jurisdictions…
Read MoreInmates Face Aftermath of Toxic Flood in Florida Jail
Little over a week ago in Florida, hundreds of people (some 315 homes) were evacuated after a leak at Piney Point wastewater reservoir near Tampa. A local jail was also threatened by flooding with toxic water, yet it was only partially evacuated. Most of Manatee County Jail’s prisoners (700+) were crowded upstairs, left behind to…
Read MorePeople with Disabilities Struggle in the Wake of the Blizzard
They say natural disasters don’t discriminate but one would be hard pressed to investigate a hurricane, earthquake, or blizzard in which one particular demographic wasn’t disproportionately hit: the disabled community. The freezing weather swept in on Valentine’s Day weekend and tore through multiple states. Widespread power outages and bursting pipes ensued, flooding homes and leaving…
Read More300 Seconds of Silence for Mubarak Bala
22 February 2021 marks the 300th day of Mubarak Bala’s ongoing arbitrary detention. In protest at his ongoing arbitrary detention, humanist activists across the globe will be observing a symbolic 300 second silence: one second for each day Mubarak has been detained. Join the global protest. See Humanists International’s page freemubarakbala.org for more info…
Read MoreGrantee Spotlight: Unchained At Last
Here’s the undeniably bad news: Child marriage continues to be a scourge in the United States. But there is good news too: If we work together, we can eliminate the scourge by this time next year. Shockingly, child marriage, or marriage before 18, remains legal in most of the U.S. Between 2000 and 2010, an…
Read MoreA Call to End State-Sanctioned Violence
An uprising for racial justice is sweeping the country. News and videos of state-sanctioned violence have flooded our televisions and social media, raising our awareness of the countless Black men, women, and children whose lives have been violently stolen. We know some of their names: Tony McDade. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Atatiana Jefferson. Eric Garner. Tamir…
Read MoreWhere Due Process and Human Rights Cease to Exist
Operating in a court where due process rights don’t exist Did you know that of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving throughout 2019 and 2020, less than 2% were represented by an attorney in court? While they waited for their court hearings, asylum seekers were forced to live in makeshift refugee camps in…
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