US Human Rights Fund Launches New Racial Justice Website

The Overbrook Foundation is pleased to share the US Human Rights Fund’s news of the launch of a new website - www.racialjustice.org. This site includes resources and stories from human rights advocates present at the US Human Rights Fund’s We Shall Overcome: Using Human Rights to Achieve Racial Justice Convening held in Philadelphia last November. Not only does this site explain the human rights framework that united the interested funders, activists, artists and journalists who attended the meeting, but it also includes convening-related and external resources for those who are interested in learning more about the Human Rights movement in the United States. 

Highlighted stories from leaders in the field on the importance of human rights and their experiences with human rights-based campaigns also have a place on the site.  For example, leaders at NESRI, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the ACLU share their experience with using human rights frameworks. In addition, it draws attention to the story of the 2011 Human Rights Hero Award Winner, Jessica Lenahan. Ms. Lenahan is an American human rights defender who brought her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to fight for government accountability for the human rights abuses she faced here in the United States.  (Her story was actually featured on this blog in November - click here to view it.)  

The organizations and the convening lessons covered on this site address a variety of issues that intersect with racial justice ranging from education reform to immigrant rights, from criminal justice reform to health care issues.  Despite this wide array of focuses, these individuals and their organizations see how their work can be connected through human rights.  They view the fight for racial justice in our country as a fight for the human rights of all. We hope you can check out www.racialjustice.org to explore and learn from the exciting tools and resources found on this new site!

2012 Human Rights Institute at the Urban Justice Center

The Urban Justice Center’s Human Rights Project has opened the application period for its 2012 Human Rights Institute. Over the course of this three-day fellowship, participants will learn how to incorporate a Human Rights framework into their own advocacy work around domestic economic and social justice issues. Not only will participants learn more about human rights treaties and arguments, but they will also be provided with concrete tools and methods for integrating these models into their own organizations and communications efforts.

This great opportunity will take place in New York City from March 28^th to March 30^th 2012. The deadline for applications is January 9, 2012 for those seeking scholarships and January 16, 2012 for those who will not ask for financial assistance.

As The Overbrook Foundation strongly supports the development of a United States Human Rights Movement, we believe that it is important for organizations like the Urban Justice Center to offer workshops and trainings in the use of human rights arguments for new activist leaders. In addition to providing the capacity for participants to teach the populations they work with or others in their own organizations, this fellowship has the potential to create valuable connections and partnerships between organizations across a variety of economic and social justice issue areas.

For more information or the application form, please consult the Human Rights Project’s website: http://www.hrpujc.org/ The information found on this blog post comes from this site and emails received from this grantee.

The 2011 US Human Rights Fund's Human Rights Hero Award

At this week's United States Human Rights Fund Convening in Philadelphia, the Overbrook Foundation CEO and President Stephen Foster presented the Fund's first Human Rights Hero Award to activist, Jessica Lenahan. Ms. Lenahan receives this award to honor her extraordinary work promoting human rights and combating violence against women in the face of deep, personal tragedy.

In 1999, Jessica's estranged husband Simon Gonzales threatened and intimidated Jessica and her children, resulting in a judge's restraining order. Defying this restraining order, Mr. Gonzales kidnapped their three daughters from Ms. Lenahan's home. When Ms. Lenahan repeatedly sought help from the police to enforce the restraining order and subsequently to recover her daughters, they refused to help and even belittled her concerns. Tragically, this kidnapping ended with both the death of Mr. Gonzales during a shooting with the police and the uninvestigated murders of her daughters. Ms. Lenahan filed a lawsuit against the Town of Castle Rock for its unwillingness to protect her and her children despite the judge's restraining order.

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided that the police were not required to enforce the restraining order. Undeterred, Ms. Lenahan turned to the human rights community in her efforts to redress the injustice. Ms. Lenahan brought an appeal to the US Supreme Court's decision to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR). On August 17, 2011, this court ruled in favor of Ms. Lenahan, publically condemning the United States for failing to investigate Ms. Lenahan’s complaints, failing to investigate the circumstances of the deaths of her children and failing to hold law enforcement accountable for its responsibility to implement the law. This decision is documented in the IACHR’s press release.

Additionally, this powerful video of Jessica's story in her own words surpasses our ability to recount the speech presented at the Convening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvPtMCrl4J4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ms. Lenahan has used this decision to expand advocacy and public education efforts to improve services and legislation to protect women from domestic violence in the US. As a woman of Latina and Native American descent, she views her experiences as a part of a trend of the injustice and the denial of human rights that disproportionately affects women in this country, particularly women from low-income or ethnic or racial minorities. Despite the toll of her personal tragedy, she has become a "voice for the voiceless" in her efforts to protect all women, especially those women from the most vulnerable communities.

The Overbrook Foundation congratulates Jessica Lenahan and applauds her hard work to promote accountability from all levels of the United States government for human rights violations committed under their auspices.

Defending Women's Rights in Oklahoma

Another victory for one of our grantees, the Center for Reproductive Rights -- this time, in Oklahoma.  That's where a judge blocked a new law intended to reduce the number of abortions performed in the state.  Lawmakers passed the measure earlier this year, which would have prohibited doctors from prescribing drugs for off-label uses, including abortions.  Attorneys for Oklahoma argue the drugs should only be used in accordance with FDA guidelines.  But opponents contend drugs are often prescribed for uses other than those stated on their labels; and the bill puts vulnerable women at risk -- not to mention, undermines their constitutional rights.  The Center filed the lawsuit earlier this month, on behalf of the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice, an abortion rights group, and Nova Health Systems, an abortion provider. Yesterday's temporary injunction prevents the measure from going into law next month.

"We are extremely pleased that women in Oklahoma will continue to have access to treatment options for pregnancy terminations that have been widely recognized as safe and effective by medical experts and organizations around the world," said Michelle Movahed, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights. 

The Overbrook Foundation praises the Center for its ongoing commitment to protecting women's rights in the face of constant legal attacks.

To read the full press release on the Center for Reproductive Rights' website, click here.

Anti-Immigrant Law in Alabama

As one in a string of recent anti-immigrant laws in several US states, Alabama’s HB 56 has been decried as the harshest anti-immigrant law passed and enacted in our nation’s recent history. This law will increase instances of racial profiling and civil rights abuses since Alabamian law enforcement officers are required to ask anyone they suspect of being an undocumented immigrant for proof of citizenship papers. In addition, illegal immigrants cannot enter into a contract between private parties (i.e. sign a lease) or a contract between private individuals and the state (i.e. receive state-provided utilities). Legal challenges from the Department of Justice and several legal advocacy groups have led to judges’ blocking several of the law’s provisions from being enforced, including a provision that would criminalize harboring or transporting illegal immigrants. Most recently, the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has the section of the law that would require schools to identify and record the citizenship statuses of their K-12 students. The court has also temporarily suspended the provision that makes it a state crime for individuals to travel without documentation of citizenship. While this was a victory for many in Alabama, these provisions had already led to the detention of some immigrants and many other harsh, restrictive regulations from HB 56 continue to be implemented in the state.

After hearing accounts from advocacy and legal organizations in Alabama, we have learned of many upheavals both inside and outside of immigrant communities. For some, this law has prevented them from going to work or attending school because of the risks of travelling without papers. For others, it has even pushed their families to flee the state in the middle of the night. Additionally, the impact of this law on the state’s economy has already been felt. Farms are missing employees, many of whom are undocumented, and these jobs do not seem to have widely appealed to the Americans who were supposed to take them. Activists are fighting this law and offering services to affected populations through advocacy campaigns, grassroots organizing, public education clinics and messaging to sway public opinion with economic and civil rights based arguments.

As a Foundation concerned with human rights in the US, we urge all of our readers to learn more about HB 56, the local ramifications of its implementation and the legal battles that surround it. The ACLU, an Overbrook grantee, has described its efforts against HB 56 and its assessment of the situation in Alabama at http://www.aclu.org/crisis-alabama-immigration-law-causes-chaos. Major news sources have also provided in-depth coverage of the progression of this discriminatory law.